About us

Organization for Aid to Refugees (OPU) was established in 1991 in Prague as a non-profit, non-governmental, humanitarian organization. Since 2014, OPU has been an association under the Civil Code.

OPU has been helping refugees and foreigners in the Czech Republic for 28 years.

OPU’s main activities include providing free legal and social counselling to applicants for international protection and to other foreigners in the Czech Republic, organizing training programmes for both professionals and the general public, and other activities aimed at promoting integration of foreigners.

One of the OPU’s goals is to fight against xenophobia and racial and ethnic intolerance.

Watch a video about OPU made by Saša Dlouhý:

Our Team

JUDr. Martin Rozumek, OPU director
Mgr. Ludmila Bobysudová, OPU deputy director


Prague (head office):

Legal department:
Mgr. Hana Franková (Head of the legal department)
Mgr. Petra Khollová
Zuzana Pavelková M.A.
Mgr. Marika Tomanová (on maternity leave)
Mgr. Kristina Kavínková
Mgr. Anna Kadlecová
Mgr. Jarmila Karak Vargová
Mgr. Lucie Bara
Mgr. Mária Fančovičová
Mgr. Vavřinec Dudek
Mgr. Kristýna Suková

 

Social department:
Mgr. Lucie Fryčová (Head of the social department)
Mgr. Ludmila Bobysudová
Ing. Džana Nidžar Popović
Mgr. Alice Mirovská
Mgr. Štěpánka Stehlíková
Mgr. Tereza Feřteková (Halfway house, student ´s internships – social dept.)
Tomáš Klíma
DiS., Linda Tranová
Mgr. Soňa Spěváková
Mgr. Andrea Macháčová
Mgr. Markéta Wudiová

Intercultural workers:
Olena Humelych
Vasilie Balohová
Tetiana Cravcenco
Valeriia Kharenko
Oleksandra Garasymiv
Svitlana Okhnal

Eduacational department:
Ing. Džana Nidžar Popovič
Mgr. Pavla Merhautová
Bc. Robert Netuka
Bc. Alena Makovcová
Mgr. Šárka Netuka

PR, fundraising, donations, volunteering:
Pavla Merhautová
Mgr. Geti Mubeenová
Mgr. Alice Mirovská
DiS., Soňa Spěváková

Financial and administrative department:
Ing. Eva Vaškůjová (Financial manager)
Ing. Iva Barešová (Accounting)
Markéta Hrušovská
Eva Barešová
Petr Vašíček

Management Board:
Carol Sanford
Nancy Bingham Meech
Helena Pěchoučková
Blanka Tollarová

 

Brno branch:

Mgr. Hana Natidzeová, head of the Brno branch

Legal department:
Mgr. Marina Melkonjan
Mgr. Denisa Safyová
Mgr. Adam Stašek

 

Social department:
Mgr. Eva Kaličinská
Mgr. Veronika Černohorská
Mgr. Lenka Vonešová
Mgr. Madla Čechová
Mgr. et Mgr. Iveta Rožníčková

Ing. Jindřiška Žáčková, acounting

 

Plzeň branch:

Social department:
Mgr. Tereza Řípová (Head of the Plzeň branch, social worker)
Bc. Tereza Štěpánková (social worker, job coach)
Vladyslav Skyban (field worker assistant)
Olga Němečková (field worker assistant, social worker)

Legal department:
Mgr. Michal Pitař (lawyer)
Mgr. Kateřina Němečková (lawyer)

 

Ostrava branch:

Legal department:
Mgr. Elvíra Hlukhanych​ ​(Head of the Ostrava branch)
Mgr. Petra Vojčiniaková

Social department:
Mgr. Andrea Milatová
Barbora Klinovská (coordinator of volunteers)
Lucie Gurecká

 

 

Hradec Králové branch:

Mgr. Yvona Hofmanová (Head of the Hradec Králové branch, social worker)

Social department:
Mgr. Yvona Hofmanová (Head of the Hradec Králové branch, social worker)
Bc. Libuše Lopourová – social worker

Czech language courses:

Bc. Barbora Hostinská – barbora.hostinska(z)opu.cz