STAVR

WHAT?            

The special project "Strengthening Tailor-made Assisted Voluntary Return"- STAVR seeks to increase the chances of successful reintegration for people returning voluntarily to their country of origin after their stay in Belgium.

We do this by providing a substantial reintegration budget as well as professional and individual counselling and assistance both before departure and after their arrival in the country of origin. The local partner organizations develop a network in their respective countries to ensure professional and individual social assistance as well as business counselling in all important areas of the country.

Caritas International aims at offering quality support by constantly developing our methodologies as well as supporting and providing training on a regular basis for our local partners.

The specific assistance the project offers depends on the nature of the needs of every individual returnee. The necessity and priority of the assistance are assessed by the social assistants and the business consultants in agreement with the returnee. 

The fact that the choice to return is a voluntary choice is fundamental. Caritas International will never try to convince a person to return to his or her country of origin, but will offer independent and verifiable information about the risks and possibilities.

WHO?                   

In cooperation with our local partners, we want to assist people who return from Belgium for several months after their return in order to look for individual solutions for the specific difficulties they might encounter.

We can offer extra intensive assistance for three specific target groups:

-  Microbusiness: returnees who want to start up their own business can receive individual assistance in Belgium and also receive considerable financial aid and professional assistance from a business consultant after their return.

- Job placement: returnees who wish to find a job can receive financial aid to participate in training and can benefit from job search assistance.

- Vulnerable returnees. Both before and after return they receive special attention through social assistance or through referral within a local social network; there is a very flexible budget, completely adjustable to their needs. The vulnerability criteria are the same as in the general reintegration program, namely:

• People with medical problems
• Pregnant women
• Unaccompanied minors
• Victims of human trafficking 

The returnees do not receive any cash but there is a budget which is spent in agreement with the local partner organization. The size of the budget depends on the individual needs of the returnees.

The local partner organizations provide feedback about what is happening. They also write three-monthly reports in which they describe and analyze the situation of the returnee. When the social counsellor in Belgium wants to know about the situation of his/her client, he/she can receive this information without a problem.

WHERE?

The STAVR project is available in all countries. A typical request can be handled quickly and has no influence on the REAB-procedure.

FUNDING?    

The STAVR project was launched on October 1^st of 2009 and is still running. The project is financed by the Return Fund of the European Commission.

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ERSO West

WHAT?            

ERSO stands for European Reintegration Support Organisations and is a network in which European partners and their associates in countries of return cooperate in the field of voluntary return and reintegration in order to work more efficiently and coherently on a European level. The first phase of ERSO was launched in 2007, followed by the ERSO II project in April 2008. ERSO West started in January 2011 and is the third phase of ERSO.

ERSO West has a regional approach and therefore focuses on return to and reintegration in five African countries: Cameroon, Morocco, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. In each of these countries local partner organizations are closely involved not only in providing reintegration assistance but also in capacity building and the development of awareness campaigns on migration issues.

European project partners: Caritas Austria, Maatwerk bij Terugkeer (the Netherlands), Caritas International (Belgium), ACCEM (Spain), Raphaels-Werk (Germany), Caritas Europe, France Terre d’Asile (France)
African project partners: CCEY-CA (Cameroun), Cardev (Morocco), Caritas Senegal, Christian Brothers (Sierra Leone), BCGO (Togo)

WHO?                   

The target group of ERSO West are (rejected) asylum seekers and irregular migrants from Cameroon, Morocco, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo who wish to return voluntarily to their countries of origin.

The return and reintegration assistance we can offer and the specific target groups are the same as in our STAVR project

The final beneficiaries of the ERSO West project are not only the migrants who return, but the entire community who receives the migrant since assisted return and reintegration support can trigger a positive process for the development of the community and the country.

WHERE?

The ERSO West project is active in Cameroon, Morocco, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. It is open to (rejected) asylum seekers and irregular migrants who return from any of the EU member states provided that they return in the framework of a voluntary return programme.

FUNDING?    

The ERSO West project started on January 1^st 2011 and will run until the end of 2013. The project is financed by EuropeAid of the European Commission.

For more information on ERSO please visit http://www.erso-project.eu