The project RECEA

Map of Armenia

On the 1st of December 2012 the project RECEA (Reintegration Centre Armenia), financed by the Return Fund of the European Commission and carried out under the trusteeship of AWO Bremerhaven, has started. The program extends over a period of 18 months and will be carried out in cooperation with Armenian, Polish and Bulgarian NGOs.

RECEA is dedicated to the support and assistance of Armenian immigrants to voluntarily return to their homeland. In addition to the activities related to the return, such as

 

- counseling and preparation prior to the return and

- assistance and support during the return,

building-up the Heimatgarten Adaptation Centre Yerevan in the Armenian capital, an adaptation centre for conducting reintegration measures for children, youth and families is at the heart of the program. The tasks of the adaptation centre include, in addition to pedagogical and psychological care, social counseling and language courses.

 Background

Annually several hundred Armenians return from the European Union back to their homeland. A third of them are children and adolescents. In their homeland the returnees are faced with many problems. Successful reintegration is often impaired and endangered by deficits in the native language, unawareness of social and cultural conditions, changes in living conditions and the loss of social relationships left abroad. The often-adjusting social exclusion can transform migration for those affected to a traumatic experience. As a result particularly children and adolescents may suffer of mental health problems.

To mitigate the impact of these problems and to support the Armenian returnees with reintegration into their homeland, in the context of RECEA best practices of reintegration are applied.