Since 2006, the Accompagnement Migrants Intégration (AMI) association has been working to promote the integration of refugees in Pays de la Loire. The initiative to create the association is the result of the commitment of Catherine Libault, the director, a former lawyer sensitive to the difficulties encountered by asylum seekers arriving on the territory.
Integration through work is a priority. AMI is “the only association in France that offers jobs to refugees,” observes Catherine Libault. The association manages the entire process, from the establishment of contracts with employers, through the validation of migrants with work capacity, to accommodation at the workplace. “The beneficiaries are people who are motivated to work, we don’t force anyone,” adds the director, who no longer counts her hours.
Larger locals!
The association offers a daycare service as well as many activities for the beneficiaries. The former locals no longer made it possible to receive refugees who came knocking on the organization’s door in the best conditions. Because every day, “you can meet up to 100 people,” says Aboubacar, the smiling volunteer who takes care of the reception.
The installation in summer 2017 in new premises was therefore a necessity. Larger than the old ones, they offer a quality of welcome that corresponds to the ever-increasing needs of the AMI. “Now we have more comfortable offices, a classroom for French classes and more space for daycare,” concluded the founder, “The move also fills in Christian, a refugee and volunteer who takes care of the “cloakroom”, the stock of items made available to the beneficiaries. “The new office is bigger, we can store more things. I like it, I was in sales before I left my country. »
Many see in the association a family, and being able to have a warm and welcoming place is a daily comfort for everyone.
