Funding organization: UNHCR Bulgaria

Duration: 01/01/2023 – 31/12/2023

Beneficiaries: Refugees, asylum seekers and beneficiaries of temporary protection, who suffer from the psychological impacts of conflict, persecution, displacement and related trauma, as well as victims of or people at risk of gender-based violence.

Overall objective: The project aims to strengthen the capacity of CRWB as a community-based organization, as well as to improve access to rights and facilitate the social adjustment of beneficiaries through psychosocial support, humanitarian aid, multi-stakeholder advocacy, and complex assistance to members of the most vulnerable groups, including families with more than three children, single parents, disabled family members, survivors of violence, the elderly, and unaccompanied minors.

In order to expand project activities and be a better advocate for the rights of refugees and asylum seekers supported by UNHCR, the project “Community Mobilization and Empowerment of Refugees in Bulgaria” aims at:

• Providing of complex assistance to vulnerable beneficiaries;

• Furnishing an increased emergency humanitarian assistance, social support and psychological assistance to beneficiaries of temporary protection;

• Supporting the social integration and access to rights of refugees and asylum seekers, through social mediation, psychological assistance and humanitarian aid;

• Improving the access of refugees and asylum seekers to the health care system and to provide relevant information and support for special cases of disabilities or chronic diseases;

• Raising awareness of Bulgarian society, improve reception and public attitude towards refugees, through social media platforms, providing regular information and engaging individual donors and companies in regular donation campaigns;

• Participating in regular meetings with various institutions and other non-governmental organizations, during which lobbying and advocacy tasks will be coordinated.

Activities: As part of the project’s activities, the Council of Refugee Women organize multidisciplinary meetings to advocate and find solutions for the most vulnerable groups of beneficiaries. During individual meetings, the team conduct assessments to find solutions for complex interventions, which include humanitarian support, social and psychological support, and improving their access to medical care. This social follow-up of hundreds of vulnerable persons allow the launch of donation campaigns and the provision of items that can cover their needs, as well as the engagement of individual and corporate donors. This project also includes conducting a study of CRWB services on best practices and possible outcomes, while gathering information and observations.