Greetings!
For several years, the Women’s Resource Center Pihlaja has developed a culture and gender sensitive approach through its practical work. Upon reflecting on our experiences, we decided to ask the question: Do immigrant women and girls need special support in integrating into the Finnish society? We planned to ask this question to third country nationals (excluding refugees and asylum seekers) and to the different levels of the society – government authorities, NGOs, integration service providers and educational institutions.
The Qutomo project was launched on 1.6.2012 to develop a culture and gender sensitive integration path as an innovative approach to help government and other service providers in their work with integration of migrants. Our own experience tells us that we need new methods and tools that will increase multiculturalism and societal participation. The model also emphasizes recognizing culture and gender in working with clients. In integration work and its development, achieving the impact depends substantially on the stakeholders’ ability to build effective relationships not only with the clients, but also with their own valuable networks and cooperation partners.
The Women’s Resource Center Pihlaja has assisted an increasing number of migrant women from different parts of the world over the past years. In 2011, this number was approximately 180. These women came seeking help for their everyday challenges and life’s strenuous problems. Most of the women also lack the necessary knowledge to function in the Finnish society and combined with their poor Finnish language skills, they have not fully integrated into the society.