2008 - 2012

DRC (Danish Refugee Council) funded project:

“Provision of social assistance for asylum seekers and refugees in Zakarpattia region”

Background Information:

As the year's progressed, the numbers of refugees and asylum seekers continued to grow however with the added dimension of ever growing numbers of unaccompanied minors appearing. Often the experiences that asylum seekers and refugees face in their countries of origin and throughout the journey is so horrific that it constitutes a major psychological burden impacting their well-being. the added shock of arriving in an alien country with a completely different culture and language can compound these effects. Children and unaccompanied minors are particularly vulnerable as such experiences can come to define the rest of their lives and so it is essential they are provided with an outlet and social mechanism to deal with these issues. As a implementing partner of UNHCR and many years of positive work, the Danish Refugee Council concluded an agreement with NEEKA to broaden their social assistance program. This coincided with the influx of many unaccompanied minors who required even more attention and programs to stimulate their positive development and integration into society. There are three people in NEEKA who are in this project full time and they include 2 social works and 1 children's psychologist.

Social Assistance: The social assistance program involves many different activities focused at children and unaccompanied minors which includes, computer courses, language courses, dance classes, various workshops (for example on environment protection) and consultations with and without family members. A mechanism within this program called best interest determination is applied to to determine the child's previous experiences and the best way to approach and resolve these issues. Their interests are also stimulated and assisted to the furthest extent possible.

Further reading:

DRC (Danish Refugee Council) global website: http://www.drc.dk/

Children's computer courses:

Children's workshop about the environment:

Construction of a greenhouse at the Mukachevo TAC (temporary accommodations centre):