Fundacja Barka poszukuje pracownika programu pomocy bezdomnym obywatelom krajów Europy Środkowo- Wschodniej w Reykjaviku

Fundacja Barka poszukuje pracownika programu pomocy bezdomnym obywatelom krajów Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej w Reykjaviku. Barka prowadzi od 10 lat programy pomocowe m.in. w Londynie, Dublinie, Hadze, Rotterdamie, Antwerpii. Projekt prowadzony będzie we współpracy z Urzędem Miasta Reykjavik. Jego celem jest pomoc obywatelom krajów Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej w wyjściu z bezdomności, uzależnień i innych trudności życiowych. Projekt będzie prowadzić angielski oddział fundacji Barka.

Strony internetowe Fundacji Barka w Polsce oraz angielskiego oddziału: www.barka.org.pl, www.barkauk.org.

Opis stanowiska pracy: praca w dwuosobowym zespole z osobą mającą osobiste doświadczenie bezdomności i uzależnień, które przezwyciężyła; praca w miejscach pobytu osób bezdomnych w Reykjaviku ( noclegownia, centra dziennego pobytu i inne miejsca).

Wymagania: narodowość polska, wykształcenie wyższe ( preferowane nauki społeczne), dobra znajomość j.angielskiego, znajomość j.islandzkiego będzie dodatkowym atutem, gotowość do odbycia dwutygodniowego szkolenia w Holandii i Polsce jako etap rekrutacji. Miejsce pracy : Reykjavik

Wymiar czasu pracy: trzy czwarte etatu

Przewidywany czas rozpoczęcia pracy: 1 lipca 2019 na pół roku z możliwością przedłużenia

Pierwszym etapem rekrutacji będzie rozmowa kwalifikacyjna w Reykjaviku. Drugim etapem rekrutacji będzie dwutygodniowe szkolenie w Holandii i w Polsce, w projektach Fundacji Barka.

Osoby zainteresowane prosimy o przesłanie cv oraz listu motywacyjnego na adres: dorota.ces@gmail.com do 30 czerwca 2019.

Barka hosted Polish stand at Intercultural Day

On the 21th of May Barka team took part in Intercultural Day on World Day for Cultural Diversity, hosted by Merchants Quay Ireland.

Seven countries in all were represented and it was a wonderful opportunity for participants to learn more about some of the cultures where the beneficiaries come from. There was delicious food sampled as well as display of booklets and goodies. 

Barka hosted a promotional stand with materials and publications about Barka activity in Dublin as well as local Polish food, sweets etc. Barka team managed to prepare 100 portions of traditional Polish lunch. Our team was dressed in traditional costumes. 

The focus of the day was to remind participants that we are all global citizens and that we all have a role to play in creating the kind of world we would like to live in.

President Higgins opened an exhibition about P. Strzelecki

In May Barka team was invited to launch of an exhibition “A Forgotten Polish Hero of he Great Irish Famine: Paul Strzelecki’s Struggle to Save Thousands”. The event took lace on Wednesday, the 8 th of May at the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin.

The exhibition was officially opened by the President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins.
It tells a captivating story about Count Paul Edmund Strzelecki, a Polish humanitarian, who, as the main agent of the British Relief Association during the Great Famine, developed a visionary and exceptionally effective mode of assistance: feeding starving children directly through schools. As a result, at its peak in 1848, around 200,000 children of all denominations were being fed and clad, many of whom would have otherwise perished from hunger and disease.

The exhibition was presented by Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Dublin and hosted by the Royal Irish Academy.

Barka’s study visit to Russia

In March Barka Ireland representative, Ewa Sadowska and Magdalena Chwarscianek from Barka Netherlands, visited Moscow as part of the Peer-Ex program.

Ewa’s account of the trip: The study visit was an inspiring experience. We visited a number of organisations, cooperatives and local communities supported  by the Orthodox Church. We were surprised how much there is in common in terms of culture, mentality, organisation of social life and social care when it comes to Slavic and Russian context.

What was very apparent was huge disproportion between the small group of wealthy people and the vast majority of persons with very low income  –earning below $200 per month.

We visited, among others, communities run by Noe Organisation at Moscow suburbs, which operates on similar basis as Barka in Poland. The housing units are run by leaders in recovery and are self-sufficient (homeless and addicted people: women, man and families living from their work – they breed rabbits, pigs and goats, work in the woods and farms). The only difference is that Barka’s communities are run by residents’ associations whereas in Moscow it is more centralised: all the housing units are coordinated by the Noe organisation.

The passion and determination of the staff of organisations, creating the sense of community and space for inclusion and strengthening the human dignity is remarkable. Also the extent to which the church is active in the field of human aid is extraordinary.

Homelessness is a huge problem in Russia. We’ve learned that in Moscow lives 80,000 homeless and in St Petersburg – 60,000 (data estimated by one of the human aid organisations).

In Moscow, our team visited, among others, Milosiedze organisation’s shelters where homeless people can warm up – serving on average 200 people per day; training apartments for people with mental problems, and a number of social enterprises providing vocational training for people with mental issues, job-seekers, asylum seekers keeping busy working in woodwork, ceramic and construction workshops.

The costs of the study visit was covered by the Peer Ex program of the Euclid Network.

Reconnection of vulnerable citizen of EU of 1Q 2019

We are proud to share that from the 1st of January till the 31st of March 2019,

19 persons were reconnected via Barka IE to their home countries.

The nationality breakdown of reconnected individuals:

Country of origin Number of reconnections
Lithuania 6 (32%)
Poland 5 (26%)
Latvia 5 (26%)
Hungary 3 (16%)
Total 19

Day of Restoration of the State of Lithuania

In February Barka team was invited to the Day of Restoration of the State of Lithuania celebration at the Lithuanian Embassy in Dublin.

The event was hosted by Ambassador Egidijus Meilūnas and Minister consuelor Rasa Žemaityte.

Highlight of the event was the performance of singer Raimonda Masiulyte.

Barka would like to pass the greetings of happy Day of Restoration to the whole Lithuanian community in Ireland.

Meeting with the Polish Parliamentary Committee

Barka team in Dublin had the honor to participate in the meeting with the Polish Parliamentary Committee for Communication with Polish Diaspora Abroad. The meeting took place in MyMind (Psychotherapy Dublin) on Tuesday 12th February.

Members of Parliament and the Commission met with Poles working for Polish and Irish aid organizations. They are particularly interested in the range of support provided by civil society organisations.

We would like to express our gratitude for the invitation and the opportunity to be part of this important gathering.

Reconnection of vulnerable citizen of EU of 2018

We are proud to share that from the 1st of January till the 31st of December 2018, 68 persons were reconnected via Barka IE to their home countries, 5 people was reconnected to Barka Community in Poznan where he’s in process of rehabilitation and job training.

The nationality breakdown of reconnected individuals:

42 – Polish citizen

12 – Latvian citizen

6 – Romanian citizen

5 – Lithuanian citizen

2 – Hungarian citizen

1 – Bulgarian citizen


Latvian National Day

Barka team in Dublin had the honor to be invited to Latvian National Day which took place in National Concert Hall on Thursday 18th October, followed by a concert of chamber orchestra KREMERATA BALTICA and violinist Mr Gidon Kremer.
Spectacular music of one of the best violinist was an unforgettable experience for our team. We would like to express our gratitude for  invitation and opportunity to be part of this day.

Current challanges in social policy. Poles in the EU. Homelessness and migrations

Ewa Sadowska of Barka Ireland took part in a scientific conference “Current challanges in social policy. Poles in the EU. Homelessness and migrations”. organised by Jan Długosz Academy in Czestochowa  on the 3rd of December 2015.

The conference highlighted a collection of good practises and reports of succesful civil society projects in the area of vulnerable migrants’ integration. Scholars shared the latest scientific research on migration of Poles in the EU. A numer of discussions were focused on new methods of streetworking. Barka Foundation has been considered as the organisation which introduced streetworking in Poland in 1992 by sending first patrols of street-workers (who themselves overcame homelessness) to the streets of Poznan.

Ewa Sadowska shared the experiences of working with vulnerable CEE citizens in Ireland and the UK in partnership with local authorities.

Interesting was the last panel discussion during which three individuals who returned with Barka from the Netherlands and the UK, shared their stories.

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