In Ukraine, we have supported about 180 000 people with 29,3 million euros.

We are again accepting offers for accommodation (primarily in Tallinn, Tartu and other major cities).

Estonian Refugee Council has mediated more than 1,000 long-term accommodations. Unfortunately, this is just the tip of the iceberg, because during that time, we have had nearly 4,000 worried families looking for homes. We have brokered apartments, houses and parts of houses in the larger cities of Estonia. The biggest demand is in urban centres such as Tallinn, Tartu and Pärnu, where it is easiest to find work and for children to continue their education. 

Estonian Refugee Council (ERC) is a value-driven non-governmental EU-certified humanitarian organization. ERC was established 21 years ago and currently provides humanitarian assistance to displaced people and other vulnerable people in 5 crisis-affected countries (Ukraine, Georgia, Jordan, Lebanon, and Kenya) and different support services to beneficiaries of international protection in Estonia. Our mission is to stand for the rights and well-being of refugees and other vulnerable groups in Estonia and abroad.

Estonian Refugee Council opened a travelling exhibition "Wolf in sheep's skin: sexism and exploitation in the migration crisis of the 21st century" in the Tallinn Central Market which talks about sexism and the usage of people in difficult situations. 

The purpose of the exhibition is to highlight the cases that the Estonian Refugee Council's staff and volunteers encountered this spring and winter and to point out the dark sides of our own society, which the refugee crisis brought sharply into the limelight.

At the end of October, the “Empowering Women” entrepreneurship programme will begin in Estonia. This programme is aimed at women escaping the war in Ukraine. The three-month entrepreneurship and mentoring programme aims to support women who are ready to regain their self-sufficiency through entrepreneurship.

• Estonian Refugee Council received the European Citizen 2022 award for its activities towards Ukraine
• Estonian Refugee Council and Garage48 help women who have lost their income in the war to create dozens of new businesses in Ukraine

Estonian Refugee Council received the European Citizen 2022 award for its activities towards Ukraine. 

Estonian Refugee Council and Peaasi.ee train twenty specialists, who will lead the support groups of the evidence-based adaptation program created by psychologist Paul Sterk over the next two years. In total, nearly 5,000 refugees who arrived in Estonia will receive support through them.

There is no doubt that a person’s mental health will suffer if they are forced to leave their home or country to survive. The trauma experienced at home and on the journey, the obstacles to adaptation such as language barriers and difficulties in finding a job, or the startling recognition that a new home country means rebuilding your life from scratch, can have a devastating effect on mental health. 

“Estonia is at the forefront of helping Ukraine, a fact in which we should take pride. Now we must ensure that we have the determination and persistence to stay by Ukraine’s side for as long as needed,” writes Eero Janson. The article was first published on 02.08.2022 in the ERR.