Five Years of Integration House “Pedro Arrupe” – Experience and Practice

“A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.” Thanks to all friends who have been with us on this 5 years journey!

“A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.”

Thanks to all friends who have been with us on this 5 years journey!

On the April 6, 2022, we held the conference: Integration of unaccompanied children refugees in Serbia: 5 years of Integration House “Pedro Arrupe” – Experience and Practice to celebrate our anniversary.

The Arrupe House provides beneficiaries with not only the roof over their head, food, clothing and all the necessities, but also providing safe environment and opportunity to play, educate and integrate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

The Integration House team consists of a special pedagogue, social workers, educators, and a cultural mediator. In working with children, we use an individual approach to each child, which in practice means that after the period of adaptation of the child to the new environment, we, together with that child and his guardian, make an individual plan of activities based on the needs, strengths, and capacities of the child. From our experience so far, this method of work has proven to be a good practice in identifying children’s needs and in continuing their growth and development. The expert team works on empowering the beneficiaries and giving them 24-hour support, each day a year. In addition to support in education, which is one of the most important segments of our service, the JRS team is involved in providing other services for child protection (support for legal guardians, support for medical care, support for inclusion in formal education, support for asylum procedure, etc.)

 

JRS Serbia Team team will continue to advocate for, and is committed to respecting human rights and the rights of the children, inclusiveness, respect and acceptance of diversities, responsibility, and professionalism. In accordance with these values, equal attention is paid to every child. By accepting and following the rules of their new home – the Integration House, children contribute to creating an atmosphere of respect between themselves as beneficiaries and the JRS staff.