Orange Tree Project

Appelsiinipuu-Orange Tree is a project which helps the immigrant women to integrate into Finnish society and a way of life, gives the opportunities to share common experiences, learn from them and to have control over one's life and discovers skills and knowledge of immigrant women living in Turku. We also try to help the immigrant women to find job or place to study.

Finland is still quite closed and immigrants have difficulties to start a new life. For female immigrant the situation is even more difficult than for men because women may have spent a lot of time at home taking care of the children. Therefore, they have poorer knowledge of Finnish, culture and social structure compared to men.This in turn influences considerably in jobs.

There are also a lot of prejudices towards the immigrant women. The attitudes can also be sexist and a woman has to bear besides racism behaviour from the men and the other women. Many immigrant women feel that they are not appreciated as individuals and for the things they have done, but only as representatives of their own ethnic background.

In Orange Tree there are four immigrant women working as guides for other women. Their role is to give support and be an intermediator. Their task is also to give information and enhance team work skills. Furthermore they are ready to participate in multicultural co-operation.

Our working methods are small groups, personal guidance, different kinds of workshops (handicraft, theatre, nature, ICT) international co-operation, producing radio programme, participating in fairs, visiting in work places, job supervising and making reports of the activities. The culture evenings are organized once a month. Here both the immigrant and Finnish women are welcome to exchange ideas, to discuss and to get to know each other. In culture evenings women make food together and get acquainted to the customs of different countries.