Dear Donors and Readers,
Within the scope of the refugee support program called “Portugal Settlement Program” (PSP), FOCUS EUROPE FOUNDATION has been developing an integration plan in collaboration with governmental and private entities and also with the National Council. For this work, European funds have been very important, allowing us to broaden the scope of our actions.
So far, FOCUS has hosted 126 people, 85 from refugee camps in Greece, 54 from Afghanistan and 4 from Syria. Of these, 22 people preferred to emigrate to other countries for personal reasons. At the moment, FOCUS supports 126 people, including five babies born on Portuguese soil. For the last quarter, we plan to welcome another 300 refugees who are currently in refugee camps in Greece.
In order to help our Ismaili brothers and sisters to learn the Portuguese language – a tool without which adaptation and integration into Portuguese society would seriously be compromised - Portuguese classes were organized by age groups. Mathematics classes were also provided to students from 11 to 17 years old, as it is considered to be important for understanding the Portuguese school curricula. For adults, Portuguese classes are also taking place, namely conversation classes.
All school-age children and youth are now attending schools. The biggest difficulty has been to find day care for all babies/children. FOCUS has been liaising with various entities in order to secure places for everyone, since attendance at kindergartens contributes to better integration. Access to healthcare is guaranteed for everyone.
The integration of newcomers into the job market has been a difficult challenge, particularly due to the language barrier, however, FOCUS has relied on public and private partners to overcome difficulties.
Aiming a good integration of our brothers and sisters, FOCUS has been carrying out programs and activities with positive results, which we will present below.
Together we change lives! Many thanks to those who have been supporting us in this enormous work, namely the Portuguese Government/EU, the public and private entities that have joined forces with us and the always precious and indispensable help of Ismaili volunteers.
Thank you!
