Assisted voluntary return and reintegration 
Caritas International Belgium - Caritas Bulgaria - Caritas Ukraine

Caritas Secours International Belgium has started a long lasting reintegration project in Bulgaria and Ukraine. This project targets migrants who return to their country of origin through the REAB programme of the International Organisation of Migration.

Ukrainians and Bulgarians who decide for voluntary return are prepared and offered assistance in obtaining the valid travel documents.
Once at home, the social services of Caritas Bulgaria und Ukraine facilitate the necessary reintegration steps including housing, and social assistance. These Caritas organisations have already collected relevant experiences with returnees in the past, mainly with refugees from Iraq and Afghanistan and trafficked women.

Caritas Secours International Belgium has been a partner of the REAB programme for several years. However, it was always difficult to keep track of people’s destiny after return. The cooperation between Caritas Secours International and both Caritas Bulgaria and Ukraine offers an unique opportunity to fill this gap and improve the situation of those who return home through the REAB programme.

What are the main circumstances and difficulties linked to voluntary return?
The evaluation of this project will help raising awareness on the needs of returnees and show how they can be assisted more effectively in the long term.  As a pilot project, the initiative could be extended to further countries in the future.

For more information,
contact: Bart Cosyns, Project coordinator  
Caritas Secours International Belgium
Tel. +32 2 229 36 11
b.cosyns@caritasint.be