It is now almost two months since i have joined the great family of Projects Abroad.
My consideration of my first two months is nothing short of positive.
In the Projects Abroad Human Rights Office we never get bored.
Every day you learn something new and there is the possibility of putting into practice what you study at university.
The work is divided between the office and various initiatives that Projects Abroad has around Cape Town.
I have mainly divided my time between the Youngsfield refugee camp and St. Anne's, a home for women who have been victims of abuse.
Once a week my colleagues and me, conduct a lesson for the women of St. Anne's for about an hour.
The lessons that we have prepared in these eight weeks have spoken about many different topics.
We explained to these women that human rights are fundamental, we talked about the rights of their children, economic rights, and the rights of women at work.
In these weeks I could see that over time the women at St. Anne's have become more and more open.
In regards to the refugee camp, the situation is really complicated.
It was closed by the government last winter, but there are still 68 refugees who live there with no electricity, no hot water, and no food.
During my first week, we took the children to the beach, which was an extraordinary experience because some of those children had never seen the sea and others had not left the camp for months.
The Somali refugees mostly returned to their homeland, but this is practically impossible to understand at this moment because the UN has determined that due to serious internal conflicts in Somalia the living conditions are unsafe.
The situation in recent days is further complicated because by August the families must leave as the camp will be permanently dismantled.
Until June 15 the refugees have the option to recieve a reintegration package, which is 3000 to 4000 Rand per family (more or less 300 Euro), with which they have to pay for food, housing and all other nacessities.
Apparently this is the best solution, but if they leave the camp they face their death.
Here in South Africa refugees are not welcome and have been victims of xenophobic attacks.
Some of our work is to do with determining whether the refugees should be reintegrated, resettled, or repatriated.
One family in Youngsfield has 8 children under 13 and if the situation doesen't change, they will be homeless in August.
My consideration of my first two months is nothing short of positive.
In the Projects Abroad Human Rights Office we never get bored.
Every day you learn something new and there is the possibility of putting into practice what you study at university.
The work is divided between the office and various initiatives that Projects Abroad has around Cape Town.
I have mainly divided my time between the Youngsfield refugee camp and St. Anne's, a home for women who have been victims of abuse.
Once a week my colleagues and me, conduct a lesson for the women of St. Anne's for about an hour.
The lessons that we have prepared in these eight weeks have spoken about many different topics.
We explained to these women that human rights are fundamental, we talked about the rights of their children, economic rights, and the rights of women at work.
In these weeks I could see that over time the women at St. Anne's have become more and more open.
In regards to the refugee camp, the situation is really complicated.
It was closed by the government last winter, but there are still 68 refugees who live there with no electricity, no hot water, and no food.
During my first week, we took the children to the beach, which was an extraordinary experience because some of those children had never seen the sea and others had not left the camp for months.
The Somali refugees mostly returned to their homeland, but this is practically impossible to understand at this moment because the UN has determined that due to serious internal conflicts in Somalia the living conditions are unsafe.
The situation in recent days is further complicated because by August the families must leave as the camp will be permanently dismantled.
Until June 15 the refugees have the option to recieve a reintegration package, which is 3000 to 4000 Rand per family (more or less 300 Euro), with which they have to pay for food, housing and all other nacessities.
Apparently this is the best solution, but if they leave the camp they face their death.
Here in South Africa refugees are not welcome and have been victims of xenophobic attacks.
Some of our work is to do with determining whether the refugees should be reintegrated, resettled, or repatriated.
One family in Youngsfield has 8 children under 13 and if the situation doesen't change, they will be homeless in August.
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