The International Blue Crescent (IBC), in partnership with World Vision and The Humanitarian Aid department of the European Commission (ECHO), has undertaken a project to inform and support the refugees in Turkey. The project is currently operating in İstanbul Sancaktepe district, Bursa and Konya and it’s Esenyurt office is scheduled to be inaugurated this month.
The main objective of the project is to ensure that vulnerable refugees in Turkey are protected from harm, until lasting solutions are modelled and integrated into government systems - resulting in sustainable and equitable access to services for refugees. While the more specific and concrete objective of the project is to identify vulnerable refugees and their specific needs, and link them with the right information to regularize their status to access social services and to improve their living conditions and well-being.
Within its framework, the project has three main expected outcomes:
To reach these outcomes, IBC offers a number of services and activities to its beneficiaries and up until now it has reached over 3.000 people. Among these services and activities, perhaps the most important are the ones regarding protection. On protection, IBC offers legal counselling, psychosocial counseling, various information sessions and group and 1-1 therapies. Furthermore, IBC is in close contact and collaboration with muhtars and local authorities. To bring closer these local authorities and to inform them on a variety of different topics, IBC also organizes for them various events and seminars.
As the Syrian conflict is not nearing a peaceful end and that there are Syrian refugees who have moved and settled to Turkey, it’s highly plausible that many of them will remain in Turkey. Therefore, IBC’s project is of critical importance to create social integration and cohesion. The services and activities of IBC not only answer to the needs of refugees for psychosocial help and other serious problems they may have, but by helping them understand the Turkish legal system and organizing local events with local authorities, it helps them integrate better to the local community.
You can reach IBC in these addresses:
