Good practices

In Your Power

Together moving to a new future

Refugees in the Netherlands are extremely motivated to live their new life successfully and preferably want to get to work and participate in the society as soon as possible. Some find their way quickly; others stay unfortunately for a long time not active in society because of low level of understanding the language and lack of information. Dona Daria focuses on this second group of people, especially migrant women who have a relatively poor position on the labor market. Of the 44% of non-Western women have a paid job, compared to 56% of non-Western women migrant men. There is even lower labor participation among the refugee groups: at the end of 2011, 42% of male refugees had a job compared to 27% of women. Refugees often have the idea that as soon as they settle in the Netherlands, they can find a job on their education level from their home country. However due to their low level of Dutch language and lack of a Dutch network they often cannot find their way. So they stay dependent on their partner and keep a distance from Dutch society.

The project In Your Power ('In je kracht' in Dutch) offers a program in two directions:

Training program for trainers (volunteers) who help refugees
Language and integration courses for refugees

During the train the trainers program the volunteers are offered 12 sessions divided in 4 themes:

healthcare
financial matters
education, traditions, culture
labour market integration

The refugees are offered a 2-stages program: a theoretical and a practical one. First, they follow language courses given by a professional language educator. During the second stage they attend practical sessions in groups led by the trained volunteers.

Year(s): since 2017

Target group(s): Educators / social workers in the fields of integration of newcomers / newcomers

Website or other online channels: www.donadaria.nl

Methodology

The methodology for the train the trainers sessions is based on the materials of 4 successful European projects:

Inegra: Migrants' Integrating Kit - Basic Language for Dealing with Financial Matters
Take Care Project: Healthcare Language Guide for migrants
WorKit Job Language Kit for Migrant
WelComm: Communication Skills for Integration of Migrants

The training consists of 4 parts:

- Language and finance divided in:

Banking
Payments
Work and finances
Social benefit

- Language and health divided in:

Insurance
Healthy Lifestyle / Prevention
Accident / Emergency
Go to the doctor
In the hospital
Chronic diseases
At the dentist
Pregnancy and consultation
Psychiatric help
Care for the elderly
Physiotherapy
At the pharmacy

- Language and work divided in:

Ready for a job
Apply for a job
Finding a job
At work

- Language for education of children:

Dutch traditions and culture
Animated films / Comics - 2 fairy tales

There are at least 2 sessions held for each part.

Type of product

Paper-based material Online resource Video clips / Films Course / Training

Brief description of the outcomes

Language and information materials (on- and offline) developed during 4 European projects and adapted to the needs of In Your Power /In Je Kracht target groups.

Impact on target groups / Transferability potential

During the training for volunteers the following impact is reached:

The trainees increase their knowledge of the needs of refugees and translate them into joint actions
The trainees are equipped with basic knowledge for conducting supportive conversations and helping refugees find their way
The trainees have knowledge about the health and the financial system in the Netherlands and pass it on to refugees
The trainees gain knowledge of the labour market situation and can support refugees to start a professional training or/and find a job

The project methods are easily transferable to other target groups and other countries.

Promoter of the initiative: Dona Daria

Country: Netherlands

Languages available: Dutch