Italian Consortium of Solidarity (ICS)
Antonia DI MAIO,
ICS national coordinator

The Italian Consortium of Solidarity has been counteracting trafficking in people since October 2001. Over the recent three years, it has promoted social integration of trafficked people (hereinafter TP) repatriated to Moldova. Until nowadays, the ICS has implemented a small-scale pilot project and two large-scale income generation projects, which are targeted to facilitate social integration of the trafficked people by helping them find a place in the job market.

Identified Issues

Lack of jobs is still the key reason why Moldovan citizens, particularly women and children, immigrate from the country using insecure ways, thus risking to become victims of traffickers.
While implementing the social integration of victims repatriated to Moldova, the ICS has identified the following issues:

• diversity of problematic situations and of beneficiaries’ responses reduces their participation to income generation activities (micro-business);
• social and economic instability hampers the trafficked people make a realistic and effective step towards individual reintegration;
• lack of a quick and adequate approach to the problems and urgent needs brings harm to any process of reintegration by means of labor, selected by a beneficiary, and instantly provokes failure;
• difficulties/inability to elaborate a reliable reintegration strategy;
• situation (economic, mental, household, physiological, social) faced by the woman, redeemed from trafficking, is often more complicated than it was before she left;
• trafficked women are not able/prepared to re-integrate by means of work (because of inherent/acquired mental deviations).

Solutions

Promotion of trafficked people social integration, helping them find a place in the labor market by means of implementation of income generation projects. Creation and adjustment of an intervention model to help refugees and asylum-seekers find a place in the labor market.

Method of Work

The model of intervention, initially elaborated by the ICS and applied during provision of assistance to refugees and asylum-
seekers, has turned out to be an efficient tool for promotion
of re-integration by means of labor in Moldova. The general scheme and key peculiarities have been thoroughly evaluated and considered as re-applicable in the work with other socially vulnerable groups.

The basic model includes the following stages:

• promotion of ideas about the income generation project within the framework of the target group;
• selection of beneficiaries during individual interviews, carried out by a group of experts (made up of the ICS project coordinator, project assistant, psychologist, and economist) as to determine profitability of the submitted project idea, the applicant’s interest and commitment;
  
• evaluation visits (to check the availability of conditions necessary for commencement of a business) to each participant involved in the project;
• training courses on how to draft a business plan and on micro-business legislation (small-scale business);
  
• creative psychosocial activities;
  
• in-kind grants;
  
• monitoring and evaluation.

Selection criteria for identification of beneficiaries:

1) applicant’s interest and commitment to attend the training
courses on how to draft a business plan and on micro-business legislation (small-scale business);
2) value of the project’s idea and applicant’s previous experience;
3) joint projects should be given priority;
4) applicants who were repatriated to Moldova a long time ago should be given priority;
5) applicants with children, solitary mothers, separate mothers, widows, and divorced women should be given priority;
6) profitability and viability of the project’s idea;
7) residents from rural areas and small towns should be given priority.

These elements, tested and adjusted to the specific needs of the target group, have proved to be efficient as result of the following activities:

Consultation on vocational guidance

The scope of consultation is to help the beneficiaries identify opportunities of reintegration, adjusted to their habits, abilities,
aspirations, needs, and limits, designed in compliance with the really available possibilities.

The work elements are as follow:

• carrying out selection sessions;
• psychologist consultation during a selection session.

Training courses in writing business plans and psychosocial activities

Objective: to provide beneficiaries with basic knowledge about launching a business activity, human resources administration,
available financial and material resources, planning the future activities, increase of profit and minimization of risk of losses, Moldovan legislation on micro-business.

Work elements:

• create a secure and comfortable environment;
  
• involve in the process of facilitation/training teachers and social assistants responsive to the beneficiaries’ needs;
  
• organize team-building activities, activities targeted to increase self-appreciation, self-respect, restore the positive experience from the past.

In-kind Grants

These are designed to allow beneficiaries launch an economic activity.
Work elements:

• offer a grant only after examination of the beneficiary-drafted business-plan;
  
• emphasize risk situations and possibilities to avoid/overcome thereof;
  
• carry out consultation with an economist in the process of business management.

Monitoring and Evaluation

At this stage, financial results of the economic micro-activity
are estimated, a picture of family and social integration of each beneficiary is created.

Work elements:

• monitoring of beneficiary at the beginning of micro-business (during the first 3 months of management);
  
• final evaluation of impact in 6 months and adjustment thereof with the determined objectives.

Obtained Results

During 2001-2004, as result of assistance rendered to victims of trafficking in people within the framework of these projects

• 11 women enjoyed consultation on vocational guidance;
• 7 young women received professional kits to attend training
  and to further work as freelancers;
• 47 women participated to the training courses on how to write business-plans and on psychosocial/recreation activities;
• 39 women enjoyed support in launching an economic micro-activity.

Recommendations and Conclusions

Income generation activities have proved to be an effective scheme in support of the social integration of TP, repatriated to Moldova, who enjoyed medical assistance and psychological rehabilitation.

Psychological consultations in vocational guidance has turned out to be an efficient tool in provision of assistance to beneficiaries, in planning of custom-tailored strategies of re-integration in the labor market:

• an important effect of this process is that beneficiaries have the possibility to improve their personal and managerial aptitudes applied during implementation of the chosen micro-activity;
  
• involvement of a psychologist during the monitoring visits to each assistance-rendered beneficiary has turned out to be efficient for evaluation of the degree of reintegration in the family and in the society.

Income generation activities should be adjusted to the needs of each beneficiary

• planning and implementation of re-integration opportunities for and together with each trafficked woman repatriated to Moldova (combination of all available options
  in such a way as they correspond to beneficiary’s capacities, competence, previous experience, aspirations, needs and problems);
  
• re-integration schemes should envisage a „re-integration” package available for each selected beneficiary, which should include a set of possible support measures in the process of assistance provision; these measures should be identified and implemented together with the beneficiary.

Creation of „urgent funds”, which should be flexible and quickly administrated in compliance with the criteria clearly determined by the assisting organizations. Urgent assistance needs should be also addressed to other qualified providers of services, who can offer the necessary assistance
to beneficiaries.

Adoption of a more integrated and long-term process for identification of re-integration strategy, for provision of assistance to each beneficiary in selection of the most suitable and realistic way of finding a place in the labor market:

• continue consultations on vocational guidance;
  
• strengthen the project’s mobile teams as to ensure continuous monitoring.

Adoption of possible solutions to provide assistance for people with disabilities in terms of the right for a better life and rehabilitation:

• access to mechanisms of compensations;
  
• social lifetime allocations.

Briefing sessions to the benefit of all working group members, involved in the project, should be planned and envisaged in the project, particularly for the crucial stages of project implementation (individual interviews, consultation sessions, evaluation visits, etc.)