• We launched a donation campaign titled “Three Years Too Many” in February to support vulnerable people in frontline and hard-to-reach areas of Ukraine.
• We are about to launch four community councils in Armenia with the support of EU funding, enabling people with a refugee background to voice their concerns, advocate for solutions to their problems, and participate in decision-making processes that affect them. Additionally, we are establishing self-help groups to provide mental health support and promote independent living.
• In Jordan we are standing for the livelihood of vulnerable female-led households by training local women and women with refugee backgrounds from Syria to grow their own food in hydroponic greenhouses. The project has gained recognition as one of the best agricultural projects in Jordan by the country's Ministry of Agriculture. 

Ukraine

We provide cash-based assistance, which allows people affected by the war to purchase food, medicines, hygiene products, and other essentials. As of now, we have provided cash-based assistance to nearly 296,000 conflict-affected people, totaling over 53 million euros. Cash assistance is provided for three months, with the support of 3600 Ukrainian hryvnias per household member per month, equivalent to about 80 euros. Registration for assistance is carried out through Estonian Refugee Council's local registration points or via the online application platform. Currently, our focus is on assisting those in need in frontline areas in Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, and Kherson oblasts. The programme is funded by the European Union where Acted is the lead partner.

In February we launched the fundraising campaign “Three Years Too Many,” which will run throughout February and March to raise donations for providing essential assistance to vulnerable people in frontline areas in Ukraine. 

Estonia

The programme for developing more inclusive and better-integrated learning environments, involving kindergartens from Tallinn and Ida-Virumaa, has now concluded. The programme was implemented in cooperation with the British Council in Estonia as part of the "People To People Cultural Engagement" initiative to support social cohesion.

Entrepreneurship programme “Boost”, helping participants with refugee backgrounds develop or relaunch their businesses was launched at the end of February. The programme is supported by Wise. 

We are running the "Edge Up" employability programme, aimed at people with a refugee background who wish to enter the job market or move on to a more suitable position. So far, nine groups have completed the programme in Estonia and Latvia each. In Latvia we have partnered up with a local organisation Shelter Safe House. Each month, 10–12 people participate in the training. Registration for the programme is open. The employability programme is funded by the Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme, with support from the European Regional Development Fund.

The third season of the Empowering Women entrepreneurship programme is underway. The top 41 teams, including 14 teams featuring women with refugee backgrounds, are currently participating in the incubation programme, which will run until the end of March. The programme is co-financed by Swedbank, Garage48, the Estonian Refugee Council, the Estonian Association of Business and Professional Women, OBJEKT, and the European Union.

In collaboration with Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences in Finland, we are implementing an employability programme supporting the competitiveness of people with a refugee background in business and the labour market through the learning of artificial intelligence. Training will start in April. The programme is funded by the Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme with support from the European Regional Development Fund.

We conduct monthly adaptation support training sessions on various subjects, including use of e-services, parenting, education system, adaptation of pensioners, legal matters, entrepreneurship, medical and social system, labour market, as well as legal foundations and residence permits. The training sessions take place across Estonia, both in face-to-face and online formats. In February, 278 people participated in the training sessions, with nearly half of them attending legal-themed trainings. Since 2022, a total of over 10,400 people have taken part in these trainings.

Interest in training related to real estate has grown: people with a refugee background are primarily interested in renting a home and related matters, but interest in purchasing property has also increased. In February, we successfully conducted our first real estate training session, and the sessions will continue in March.

We provide counselling by appointment at the Estonian Refugee Council office (Vambola 6, Tallinn) every day from 10 am to 5 pm. Our information hotline is open to all refugees, as well as institutions and individuals assisting them, at +372 5881 1311 (Monday to Friday from 10 am to 5 pm), and via email at counselling@pagulasabi.ee. Additionally, counselling services are available on Viber, WhatsApp, and Telegram at +372 5464 0007.

We organise regular group activities and community events across Estonia. In February, 298 people participated in community activities across Estonia. Various community events were organised to support language learning, youth engagement, and community integration. For example, we visited an animal shelter in Tallinn, where opportunities for volunteering were introduced, and participants took part in a senior club evening at the Ahtme club. Community activities are supported by UNHCR – the UN Refugee Agency.

Armenia 

In Armenia, our environmentally friendly agriculture programme is underway, designed to assist three schools in the rural Tavush region in adopting water and energy efficient agricultural solutions developed in Estonia. This initiative aims to alleviate water scarcity, promote climate change adaptation, and provide children with valuable environmental education. The programme is financed by the Ministry of Climate from international cooperation funds. 

Thanks to European Union funding, we are launching four community councils in Armenia to enable people with a refugee background to voice their concerns, advocate for solutions to their problems, and participate in decision-making processes that affect them. In February we opened a call for interest to join the self-help groups. Similar community councils are already established in Estonia and Georgia. The programme is funded by the European Union.

Jordan

In Jordan, our focus is on vulnerable female-led households. During February, the rehabilitation of the training centre has been underway, including weed removal, maintenance of irrigation systems, fertilisation systems, and the renewal and repair of water pumps and networks. 

The training centre will provide training for 40 women, with support for 12 to establish hydroponic greenhouses on their own land. The greenhouses enable women to grow food for their own families or enhance their income by selling produce. Additionally, we will conduct hydroponics training for four female-led community organisations to increase knowledge of water-efficient agricultural methods in the entire region. 

The project was selected as one of the best-implemented hydroponic projects by the Ministry of Agriculture of Jordan, which is now looking forward to cooperating with the Estonian Refugee Centre to develop it further. The activities of the Estonian Refugee Council in Jordan are supported by ESTDEV – Estonian Centre for International Development.