Białystok is a popular destination for foreign immigrants from the east, a large portion of whom are women, and who come as whole families or alone. Every day, these women work and take care of children and the home. As they have to deal with their problems on their own, they often do not attempt to gain new professional qualifications or adapt their current skills to suit Polish conditions, even if they were successful at doing so in their home country. There is a shortage of female leaders among the immigrants living in Białystok who can act to bring about broad adaptation and integration with the local community and act as a voice for that group.

The project aims to empower, activate, and enable the female immigrant community from the east living in Białystok to become self-reliant.

Under the project, we will provide Polish lessons, career and education advice, and psychological counselling, and hold four integration events. We will set up the Leader Academy for Women (Akademia Liderek), which is workshops, mentoring, meetings with female immigrants who have achieved success, and study tours. It will provide training for twelve female immigrants to act as self-advocates and community activators. An Immigrant Women Club (Klub Kobiet Imigrantek) will be set up, in which women leaders will conduct self-help, advocacy, and training/counselling measures. As part of an initiative incubator, female immigrants will hold six events to support their own community.

The measures under the project will benefit a minimum of 129 women, 12 of whom will be trained to act as self-advocates representing their community. The club will integrate the women immigrant community and provide a sphere to be active and develop, and for discussion of their needs, as well as self-help and support.