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Description
The project proposal presents a set of support measures to assist those with temporary protection or asylum seekers from Ukraine. The project activities aim at achieving better capacity to host these people in Bulgaria and improve access to social, health and education services and provide appropriate care for those arriving from Ukraine, mainly women and children. The project team will work in three of the major Bulgarian cities - Sofia, Plovdiv and Burgas - where centres for Ukrainian refugees have been set up to provide services and support. The activities aim at achieving social, economic and cultural adaptation and integration through implementing a comprehensive approach to information provision, needs assessment and improving access to services, Bulgarian language support, career orientation and developing skills among refugee kids from Ukraine. The project will provide services to a minimum of 500 persons, who would be able to benefit from one or more services. The activities are targeted at social inclusion and social assistance, labour market integration and education. The project aims at improving the access to services and building competences for independent realisation of main rights and obligations, as well as offering integration assistance. The project outcomes aim to build upon Caritas Sofia''s capacity as a provider of social, educational and labour market services, with the added value of referrals to other public and private organisations providing support, facilitation of communication and use of available services and case follow-up. This will create the conditions for improved interaction between service users and providers to respond more effectively to the needs of refugees from Ukraine.
Project activities:
- Management and coordination;
- Publicity and informing the community;
- Access to services and support for adaptation;
- Bulgarian language activities for adults and children;
Summary of project results
The project aimed to address several important challenges faced by its beneficiaries. The project addressed services for psychological and social adaptation, integration into the host society
The main issue was the language barrier, which limited many of them to access services, education, and access to employment opportunities. Employment was another significant challenge, as many individuals struggled to find jobs due to language gaps, unfamiliarity with the job market. Additionally, the challenge of enrolling children in schools and kindergartens created educational instability for families unfamiliar with the local system.
The Bulgarian language courses and the large number of social services provided by Caritas proved to be a helping hand for the target group.
It was challenging to reach the beneficiaries in the Burgas region. Contrary to the expectations, the majority of them live in different settlements along the Southern Black Sea coast, rather than in the city of Burgas itself. To reach a larger number of beneficiaries, the project promoter began providing mobile services on the ground and organizing meetings at various facilities and hotels along the Southern Black Sea coast.
The project implemented a range of activities to support adaptation and integration. Its activities facilitated the active inclusion of beneficiaries in public, economic, and social life, thereby influencing the social and economic disparities.
To achieve this goal, the main activity was to ensure access to quality social, health, educational, and Bulgarian language courses through the establishment and maintenance of partnerships with various public institutions and non-governmental organizations providing support to the target group.In this way, the project proposal contributes to achieving the program outcome of improving the national capacity in the field of asylum and migration.
A total of 1,475 beneficiaries were consulted regarding services and available support for Ukrainian refugees.Of these, 819 were referred and included in administrative services, social and health support, and psychological assistance provided by the Social Assistance Agencies in Bulgaria.Through the development of language skills (348 beneficiaries), orientation in the labour market for finding and securing employment (55 beneficiaries), as well as the inclusion of children in the Bulgarian educational system (167 children), the independence of beneficiaries and the capacity of the educational system to accept foreign students were encouraged.