PROBLEM STATEMENT
According to UN statistics, in 2023, the number of people faced with the need to leave their homes due to wars, civil unrest and other factors exceeded 117 million. Of these, about 38 million were forced to seek asylum abroad. The problem is becoming more acute – despite the fact that many displaced persons hope to return safely to their homeland at the first opportunity, the overall trend is rather negative – the rate of growth in the number of refugees is still higher. This problem is mainly faced by the countries of the global South: Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, The Central African Republic and South Sudan in Africa, Bangladesh in Asia, and Venezuela in South America. As a result of humanitarian disasters, children, including the 1.9 million born after their parents were forced to flee in the period from 2018 to 2022, suffer the most.
Those who have achieved official refugee status receive assistance from the UN and non-governmental organizations, but many cannot confirm their status or do not live in specially designated camps, and the entire burden falls on hospitals and schools of the host states. Many of the leading refugee receiving countries do not have sufficient social infrastructure to take care of all displaced persons. Local communities faced with the task of helping refugees need support from the international community.
THE PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT
The primary problem for local communities forced to accept refugees is the lack of qualified specialists in the field of medicine and education. To solve it, it is planned to attract volunteers within the framework of humanitarian cooperation both within the BRICS and with friendly forces in other countries. The volunteer support of local hospitals and schools will be a significant contribution to solving the problem of global importance and demonstrating the role of soft power in Russia's foreign policy. The Assistance provided to African countries within the framework of the project will contribute to the strengthening and expansion of geopolitically important connections for Russia.
Against the background of global humanitarian disasters and the threat of the World War III – caring for the people who have become victims of what is happening will become a manifestation of people's diplomacy and desire for world peace.
WORKING PRINCIPLE
The participants of the Worldwide Christian Association of Parliamentarians show an example of active participation in this area and are engaged in attracting the attention of charitable foundations, government organizations, the media, bloggers and churches ready to provide material and informational support to volunteers: doctors and teachers. Hospitals and schools in local communities will be assisted by qualified specialists, whose participation can take the form of direct provision of appropriate services for refugees, as well as through training of local workers from these fields. Deputies of the host countries will provide volunteers with the necessary administrative support, identify the front of work and ensure accommodation, security and meetings with representatives of the professional community, politicians, cultural figures and public figures within the framework of people’s diplomacy.
WORK RESULTS
In April 2024, a project to help refugee children was launched in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo with the participation of the Worldwide Christian Association of Parliamentarians and Medical Mission of Zakhar Prilepin's Humanitarian Center.
Information about the progress and objectives of the work:
https://t.me/deputatdvkuznetsov/2003 PARTICIPANTS
The Worldwide Christian Association of Parliamentarians, the BRICS+ Humanitarian Commission, Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States Affaires, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Cooperation, the Humanitarian Center of Zakhar Prilepin.