You wish to help refugees already in Estonia or arriving here in the future? Estonian Refugee Council is mapping different offers of help: voluntary work (incl. support persons, language teachers, etc), jobs and apartments, different items and services. Please read first the descriptions and conditions below. We will contact you as soon as there is a need for your offer. Thank you!
Voluntary work. We are searching for volunteers who share our mission and wish to help refugees in whichever way thay can. Help can take different forms: by being a support person for a refugee (e.g. help with working around our bureaucracy, finding a school or a kindergarten place, etc), by teaching languages or other skills to refugees, by being a translator/interpreter, or by just showing around and introducing Estonia to them. A selection of our volunteers will be trained as support persons at the end of 2015.
Accommodation. Refugees rent their new homes usually from the open market, but Vao accommodation centre, responsible for helping recognized refugees with finding accommodation, oftentimes struggles with finding suitable apartments. To help them, we are gathering into our database information about suitable apartments (including shared ones). Cities are preferred, as well as apartments (vs whole houses).
We are also gathering offers from people who would like to provide living space for asylum seekers. People applying for asylum usually live in Vao accommodation centre, but they are allowed to live outside the centre if they have enough funds themselves, or if some Estonian resident supports them. Asylum seeker living outside the centre does not receive any more financial support from the state (90 euros per month), also transportation, language training and translation costs are not covered any more.
Job. Asylum seekers and refugees do not want to use state support if they can be financially independent. We are looking for enterpreneurs who would like to employ refugees or asylum seekers. Asylum seekers can start working 6 months after their application was registered, while recognized refugees do not have any limitations to working.
Services. You wish to offer refugees free babysitting or training? We are collecting such offers as well!
Things. You have something left over at home which is in good condition and could be of use for refugees? Let us know!