site.btaOver 3,500 Refugees, Migrants Assisted by Mission Wings Foundation while Seeking Protection in Bulgaria

In the last three years, over 3,500 people seeking protection on the territory of Bulgaria have turned to the Mission Wings Foundation for help, Diana Dimova, President of the organization, said on Monday. 

She pointed out that for the past 33 months, a team of specialists from the foundation have been working on a project called Regional Model for Empowerment of Vulnerable Refugees and Migrants Seeking Protection in the Country, which was launched on July 26, 2021 and will end on April 25, 2024. It is implemented with the financial support of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway under the EEA Financial Mechanism 2014-2021 and is worth EUR 156,000.

"This is an effort that we made as a fairly large team, to consciously change a reality with which we do not agree," said Dimova. The main focus of the team of specialists has been the empowerment of people who have sought or are seeking asylum and are in need of support and advocacy for their rights, the organization explained. "The innovative element of the project was the inclusion of refugees as equal participants in the search for quality change in life and their social environment, and perceiving them as individuals who can contribute to their own life as well as to the community," said the Mission Wings Foundation.

According to the organization, over 2,000 health consultations have been held over the past few months, as well as over 1,000 social affairs consultations and nearly 90 legal consultations. In addition, five lawsuits have been filed and 80 people received specialised psychological help, said Dimova. She explained that one of the biggest challenges they are facing is the new EU legislation on migration. "We all do not yet know its application and how it will be implemented in the future", stated Dimova and added that very rapid deportations of migrants can be expected.