Awarding of scholarships

November 8 was a happy day for 74 students who received a scholarship of 1000 leva to support them for a university or a school year. 60 of the students study in universities across Bulgaria, and 14 are high school students. The criteria for the selection were the students’ grades -a minimum of 4.5 at university level, and 5 at high school level (the top grade is 6), and their social situation. The recipients are total orphans, students with one parent and students from social institutions. The awarding ceremony took place at Sofia University and the scholarship certificates were presented to the students by Shirin Mestan, Chair of the State Child Protection Agency, Nikola Nikolov, Advisor to the President on Social Policy, Vanya Dobreva, Deputy Minister of Education and Science, Professor Bakalov, Vice Rector of Sofia University, and the sponsors of the Scholarship Program.

The Scholarship Program, a partnership between BCAF, the Orphan Foundation and the IWC has thus entered successfully its second year. Thanks to the generosity of corporate donors and NGOs - BNP Paribas, Euro Football, Globul, Intracom, Microsoft, Mail bg, Net Info, Schneider Electric, the State Lottery- the Scholarship Program can benefit even more students this year. We were happy to recognize youths from Mezdra Orphanage among the students who received scholarships. The IWC is happy to contribute efforts and funds to the Program and wishes all the students success in their studies!

Social Center - Petko Slaveikov

The number of institutionalized children in Sofia is quite remarkable and at the same time the alternative care services provided by the various institutions are still very few and do not meet the needs of the children and families at risk.

To provide community based social and educational services for children was then the aim of three organizations,Social Activities and Practices Institute (SAPI), International Social Services (ISS) and Bulgarian Association “Adopted Children and Adoptive Parents (BAACAP)when they applied for, and won a Phare grant at the end of 2006. The IWC has partnered successfully with IIS on previous projects like the Directors’ Forum. The largest children’s institution in Sofia and Bulgaria was chosen for the implementation of the project, Petko Slaveikov Orphanage that is home to nearly 200 children between 6 and 18 years of age. The Center will provide social services for children and families in Sofia, and will focus more particularly at first on the children placed in the institution and their biological and extended families, in view of the reintegration of the children with their families.

The Phare grant did not cover the refurbishment of the Center, situatedin an unused part of the large orphanage building. The three NGOSlaunched a fundraising campaign and solicited building companies fordonations of building material. On November 11, the Center openedofficially and it was a joyous occasion attended by the children of theorphanage and many guests. The children performed dances, veryentertaining funny skits and well practiced juggling and acrobaticacts. The day centre is spacious and brightly lit and includes roomsfor activities, individual and group work, team meetings and seminars,office rooms, a room for performances, a kitchen and toilet facilities.10 social workers and two psychologists are working full time at thecenter.

The needs of the children are assessed and an individual care plan developed for each one of the children. The children come to the center after school and can participate in various workshops, such as arts and crafts, theatre, cooking, English language etc and also receive school support. The services provided include individual and group work to help children with behavioural problems, counselling for parents and teaching of parental skills. The Center also brings together parents- whether biological or foster care parents- and children. The aim is to provide the necessary support in the day social center, so that the families feel encouraged to take their children back, and  foster parents to “adopt” a child.

We visited the classrooms and could not help smiling at how odd the new computers (donated by the government) looked in the old classroom and its antiquated broken furniture and wood stove.

Vassil Levski Boarding School, Vidrare

Vassil Levski is a middle school in the village of Vidrare, in the area of Etropole, with 70 children between 6 and 16 years of age. Thanks to its very pro active Director, Mrs Pencheva, and her motivated staff, the school fulfills its educational role the best it can with a very limited budget,  but also plays a positive social and cultural role in the community. The school actively involves the Roma and Bulgarian families of the children, thereby contributing to the interaction between the two communities. In Vidrare, Roma and Bulgarians homes are side by side in a well maintained and peaceful neighbourhood. The school also integrates 15 disabled children from the nearby orphanage.The IWC donated new desks for the children and teachers, funded partly with private donations, to replace the broken old desks. The German Embassy also donated new beds for the boarding house. About 25 children come from distant villages and have difficult family backgrounds, and are full boarders at the school. We will provide new mattresses, pillows and bed sheets, as the existing ones are simply awful.