The project objectives were to test and introduce new model of work with children and their families, living in villages, by the network of local Chitalishte in order to prevent insufficient care and violence against children and their substituent institutionalisation.
Project target groups were 60 children of Roma origin, aged 7-12 (from villages – Bukovlak, Bohot, Brashlianitsa, Tarnene and Yasen in Pleven municipality), living in extreme poverty, who have dropped out from school, living without parental care, raised by relatives or by a single parent, making their living only on social assistance. Some of these children have survived aggression and violence. Their extended families were also involved in project activities. The project addressed indirectly 584 children from five village communities, especially those at risks and in need of support.
The project work included: Studying and identifying of concrete problems, needs and attitudes of target group as well as family and community environment; Introduction of new social services for children in risk and their families in villages of Pleven municipality; Building of sustainable functional organisational structures in rural Chitalishte for after-school activities to help children in their preparatory work for school, personal and creative development; Establishment of a Mobile center for social support; Establishment of local Community councils in five villages; Popularisation and multiplication of the introduced model within the network of rural Chitalishte on the territory of Central North Bulgaria.
Art after-school activities, volunteer teams of "public tutors", mobile centre for social support, school for parents, community councils in the villages and the Advisory Committee in Pleven are practices that have achieved real results, due to their complex implementation.
Our project brought out one applicable model for work with children at high risk - Roma village children raised in poor living conditions, often dropping out of school and abandoned in institutions. None of the children from the five rural communities in which the project was implemented is abandoned. This fact is very satisfying as the main settlements, from which are the abandoned children in institutions are: Bukovlak village in which the Roma population is about 90 percent and the village Tarnene – with the most numerous and extremely poor and socially excluded Roma community. No one was abandoned from the 13 children who had submitted documents to be enrolled in institutions. This explicit fact is a reason for the high self-esteem on the results of the project. An important argument for our satisfaction with the well done job is the great interest of the rest 10 municipalities in Pleven region and the local chitalishta towards the project and their declared desire to adopt the project approach in their communities.
Chitalishta Pleven Public Fund Association
Daniela Dimitrova
1 Vazrajdane Sq., office 311
5800, Pleven
Tel. +359 64 / 836 558
fond.pleven@gmail.com
