Porto/ Portugal
Key-stakeholders involved:
- Associação para o Desenvolvimento MEERU
Brief description
Implementation of the practice
Impact
Lessons learnt/recommendation
Contact details
This project aims to create APROXIMA Communities – a model for structuring informal support networks that fights social isolation and facilitates the inclusion of migrant and refugee families hosted in local communities, through the mobilization of volunteers to energize the informal support network of migrant families, based on the creation of genuine bonds of affection and belonging, promoting community transformation and allowing full and autonomous reception and inclusion. Thus, the purpose of MEERU APROXIMA is to promote the sense of belonging and community engagement among migrant and refugee families living in Portugal. The program identifies, trains and mentors volunteers who become, along with these families, builders of genuine bonds of affection, belonging and trust.
The process begins by identifying families who have recently arrived in Portugal, through contact with the entity that is formally responsible for their integration. The next step is to associate and train people who live in the community who undergo an intensive training process. In the end, these volunteers constitute so called Proximity Teams, each with 4 to 5 members, that commit to sharing their life with these families through weekly meetings for moments of leisure, in order to create authentic and long-term relationships. These meetings can be everything the volunteers and the families want it to be: it can be a walk in the park, a tour through the city, hanging out at home, activities that both parties enjoy and that bring them closer. The program lasts 8 months, but the relationships perpetuate through time.
MEERU, alongside volunteers and families, also promotes Community Events for the entire community, such as cultural sessions, cooking workshops, football matches and other sports, etc. Awareness actions on Human Rights, Citizenship and Interculturality, and other areas of interest, for volunteers, host entities, families and the community in general are also an important role played by the organisation. These activities/sessions include non-formal education activities and volunteers’ testimonials, in different contexts: schools, universities, informal youth groups, local community agents.
In 2022, there were 26 migrant families participating with 98 volunteers engaged in integration-focused activities. A first project assessment indicates that the project is successful as families are more autonomous compared to the beginning; also, Proximity Teams that have completed their assignment with MEERU have developed skills that allow them to deal with technical issues and maintain relations with host institutions; importantly, a friendship relationship with the families is maintained after the end of the assignment with MEERU.A thorough impact evaluation is still ongoing.
A recommendation for future initiatives is about the fundamental role that dialogue and proximity play to bring people together: refugees need to be actively involved and empowered, even though this is a complex process. A lesson learnt is that simple activities, such as playing sports together, going to the park, and being available for one another play a key role in making people feel more at home, and making them feel like they have someone to rely on. This is key for their empowerment and involvement in their communities.
Associação para o Desenvolvimento MEERU | Abrir Caminho
abrircaminho@meeru.org
Pedro Santos
pedro@meeru.org