More information
Description
The empowerment of refugee women is an indicator of the integration process with the host society & a wider approach to social cohesion. The purpose of this project is to provide an empowerment pathway through a comprehensive approach focusing on the range of needs, dynamics, resilience & potential of refugee women. Since 2016, Melissa Network has been running a holistic program of empowerment & integration, creating an active, vibrant community with direct involvement of migrant women leaders, through empowerment, education, information, creativity, safety & solidarity. The program combines 7 strands of activities adapted to the needs & characteristics of the target group. 1.Literacy: specifically designed tools & interactive methodology, operating at 5 different levels: (a.beginners, b.intermediate, c.advanced, d.homework support, e.transition from literacy) 2.Psychosocial support provided through a trauma-informed, culturally aware approach (combining group drama therapy & individual counselling) to treat trauma & PTSD restoring agency & building trust & confidence 3.Info cycles on health,education,employability,rights,etc.4.Art & Creativity encompasses activities that facilitate expression & contribute to the process of opening up & sharing 5.Media & Advocacy training to gain access to information & articulate their own speech 6. Skills & Capacity Building (computers, first aid, conflict resolution etc) creating access to employability & leadership 7. Self-care & Community Engagement in order to promote well-being & contribute to social cohesion. Activities will be implemented at the welcoming environment of Mellisa''s center with direct access to interpretation, referral services & a broader range of psychosocial support, in parallel with a childcare support program for mothers.
Summary of project results
The "Open Beehives: Promoting the social cohesion and the integration of migrant & refugee women" Project was carried out to address the specific needs of immigrant and refugee women in Athens regarding their integration into Greek society. There was an urgent need for this project for multiple reasons since the outbreak of the pandemic and the emergency measures taken, negatively affected women with immigrant and refugee backgrounds as they faced problems related to the lack of access to education, knowledge of the Greek language, entrepreneurial skills, and psychosocial support.
The Project addressed these challenges by providing the support these groups of women needed for their skills development, social inclusion, and empowerment. The results of the Project are as follows: the pre-agreed actions, deliverables and indicators have been basically completed exceeding the initial target. Melissa Network, through the implementation of this specific program and with the continuous and seamless help of partners Impact Hub and Inside Story, managed to empower immigrant and refugee women in various ways. Results are measurable by both qualitative and quantitative indicators. In terms of qualitative indicators, the beneficiaries completed the program with the tools they acquired from a series of psychosocial support, entrepreneurship, advocacy, and Greek language training activities. Inside Story articles, women''s experiences distributed on social media and multilingual literacy and language books as new educational methods, capture this qualitative analysis.
. In addition, the quantitative indicators demonstrate the overall success of the program as a total of 384 women were supported with an initial target of 300. In Greek language learning courses, 166 were supported with an initial target of 135, while the number of women who participated in informative seminars on social integration, empowerment and capacity building was 125 with an initial target of 90. The initial target of the number of women who participated in informational entrepreneurship and career counseling seminars from Impact Hub was 45 and was exceeded, with a final number of 66 beneficiaries, while the number of women who participated in the educational actions for the exercise of advocacy approached the original goal of 30 with 27 beneficiaries. In short, all the pre-agreed actions, deliverables and indicators of the project have been completed, exceeding the original goal.