The project of Shumen Municipality“Interaction with the community – a factor for a better future and successful integration” under the ZOV Programme is looking for three education mediators. Two education mediators will be working for the Kindergarten “Proletna Daga” in Shumen and one – for Primary School “Hristo Botev” in the village of Ivanski.

„The position of an education mediator requires applicants to have good understanding about the social problems of the community, knowledge about the parents’ groups and competence to guide the children towards better education, socialization and integration, as well as communication skills", says Hristina Baeva, Team Leader of Shumen Project.

The deadline for submission of documents is 28 April 2017.

The procedure is organized in two stages: reviewing of applicants’ documents and conducting of interviews with the shortlisted candidates.

The Centre for Community Development in Sredets was officially opened today in "Pobeda" neighbourhood in the town of Sredets. The centre, whose building was entirely renovated and furnished under the ZOV Programme, will offer complex services related to the education and healthcare of the most vulnerable groups of people in the municipality.

The ribbon-cutting during the opening of the Centre was done by the Deputy Mayor of the Municipality of Sredets Nikolina Dambulova and the team leader of the ZOV Programme Irina Faion. The guests were welcomed by the talented children of Sredets, who performed and cited Bulgarian and Roma songs and poems.

The building was erected in 1971 as a neighbourhood club for cultural activities. Over the years, only partial repairs had been made but now the Centre has been completely repaired, all premises have been furnished and equipped with funds provided by the ZOV Programme.

„The Municipality will be entirely responsible for the maintenance of the material base in the newly-renovated building”, said the Deputy Mayor Nikolina Dambulova. „The functioning of the Centre will be funded by the municipal budget".

"What we do in Burgas, Sredets and Malko Tarnovo is part of a larger strategy and vision of the Bulgarian-Swiss Cooperation Programme for integration of the Roma people through education and healthcare, and improvement of the quality of their life“, pointed out the team leader of the ZOV Programme Irina Faion.

The Centre for Community Development is not going to be just a renovated building, it will be filled with content”, added Magdalena Yapadzhieva, senior expert in "Education and Demographic Issues" Directorate at the Municipality of Burgas and manager of the project of Burgas Municipality under the ZOV Programme.

Sredets Centre

"On the first floor, there are three offices for the centre’s team, a computer room, a hall for trainings and cultural events. They were furnished and equipped with funds of the project. On the semi-basement floor there are two large halls. One of them is intended for extracurricular activities of the “Sports” Club, while the other one will be used by the newly-created dance group", explained Project Coordinator for Sredets and Coordinator "Education and integration activities" in the Municipality of Sredets Zyumbula Marinova.

The Centre will offer activities, which will complement the teaching of Bulgarian language in the schools, the development of computer skills and work habits, as well as the socialization of the children through games and arts. The team will also work with the parents, in order to motivate them to send their children to school and encourage them to be active in class. The Centre was designed to provide health and education services and consultations to the parents, so that they have a basic health culture and hygiene habits, as well as to stimulate them to take care of their health and that of their children. A health mediator will ensure the link of parents and children with a general practitioner and a gynecologist. It will all be carried out with the support of pedagogical specialists, psychologists, doctors and mediators, employed under the ZOV Programme, who are people from the community.

Integrated services

The idea of integrated services, concentrated in Roma communities in the form of centres, is not a new one. Similar programmes in Bulgaria have been funded also by the World Bank, UNICEF and under EU social projects, in order to improve the quality of the services related to social and health problems. Such integrated services are offered in many places in the countries with compact Rom population - Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Spain. It is increasingly necessary to use the efforts of municipalities and non-governmental organizations for the provision of this kind of integration services, primarily in the area of education and employment in the countries from the European Union that accept Roma immigrants – Germany, Scotland, Belgium, France.

„The ZOV Programme is not an exception to this tendency and contributes to the improvement of the work in the social sphere, engaging, though, the municipalities further to take over the management and sustainment of those centres“, said the team leader of the ZOV Programme Irina Faion. „This combination between providing support with know-how, integrated approach, positioning in the Roma community itself and sustainability, is the ultimate goal that we are aiming at and hope to achieve. This is the uniqueness of our approach in our work under the ZOV Programme“.

The International Roma Day was celebrated with a special event at Nayden Gerov Primary School in Stolipinovo, the Roma neighbourhood of Plovdiv. The pupils gave a performance in front of their parents, local people and the representatives of the media.

The celebration was opened with introductory words by Mrs. Stefka Simeonova, Chief Expert Education at the Municipality of Plovdiv, Iztochen District. She described the importance of education for the integration of Roma and other vulnerable groups and greeted those present with the International Roma Day.

School pupils performed a divers artistic programme, which impressed the audience. Enthusiastic students presented a series of poetry readings, short drama, folk, classical and Latin American dances. The festive celebration took place on a makeshift stage in the corridors of the second floor of the "Nayden Gerov” School, as at the moment there are no appropriate premises for organizing public events. Therefore, the project implemented in Plovdiv under the ZOV Programme envisions the construction of Educational Center with premises for community gatherings, extracurricular activities, as well as art and sports activities.   

The event has become a real feast for the Roma community of the neighborhood. Parents and relatives proudly watched their children and applauded their artistic performances.

Монтана отбеляза днес Международния ден на ромите с пъстър концерт. В програмата му бяха вплетени традиционни ромски и ориенталски танци, латино и брейк денс, детски и поп песни. На сцената се изявиха деца, подготвени в извънкласните форми по Програма ЗОВ (Здраве и образование за всички).

С изпълненията си се открои на дуета Вера (вокал) и Асен (китара) Борисови, както и виртуозните танцьорки Албена и Александра от кв. “Огоста”. Публиката в препълнената зала на Драматичния театър изпрати с бурни овации и 12-годишната Стефка Андреева от кв. “Кошарник”, дръзнала да изпее хита на Уитни Хюстън от филма «Бодигард». Това е новата Софи Маринова, коментираха от публиката, възхитени от тоновия обем на гласа й.

Грациозната третокласничка Рая Андреева – солистка на индийски танц, впечатли не само със своята пластичност и ритмичност, но и с невероятното си излъчване. Умиление предизвикаха и малчуганите от Детска градина № 8 „Пролет”, а темпераментното циганско хоро на децата от с. Габровница вдигна градуса на настроението.

Голяма заслуга за успеха на концерта имаха конферансиетата Йоана и Жерина, подготвени от актрисата Анастасия Янчева, която беше и сценарист на празничното шоу. Това обяснява и участието на театралното студио на ОДК “Ние, врабчетата”, както и специалният поздрав, отправен от Жанета Пейна – солистка на вокално студио “Детски смях”, победителка в множество певчески конкурси.

Концертът започна с приветствие от заместник-кмета Тихомир Антонов, който подчерта, че приобщаването на ромския етнос и подобряване на условията на живот, образователното равнище и здравния му статус е важен акцент в политиката на Община Монтана.

Преди темпераментния музикално-танцов спектакъл във фоайето на театъра бе подредена изложба на клуба по фотография към ОУ “Георги Бенковски” – кв. “Кошарник” и Първо ОУ “„Св. Св. Кирил и Методий“. Експозицията бе открита с кратка драматизация, подготвена от групата по художествено слово към училището в с. Габровница.

Малките певци, танцьори и артисти са от училищата и детските градини, които участват в проекта на Община Монтана „Комплексен подход за ромско включване в Община Монтана“, финансиран от Българо-швейцарската програма за сътрудничество в рамките на ЗОВ.

Заместник-кметът Стоян Марков откри днес в галерия "Май" в Сливен изложба под наслов "Светът на ромите". Проявата е част от програма, посветена на Международния ден на ромите - 8 април. Организатори са Ромска академия за култура и образование и Фондация „Здравето на ромите” с подкрепата на община Сливен.

В изложбата картини представят художниците Найден Михалев (село Блатец, Сливенско), Радослав Димитров – Бадуля (Добрич), Петър Пенев (село Тополчане, Сливенско), Светослав Борисов (Лом), Александър Захариев (София), Георги Стефанов (Лом), Дора Куршумова (Сливен) и Диана Софрониева (София).

Заместник-кметът Стоян Марков поднесе поздравителен адрес от кмета на Сливен Стефан Радев. „Почитането на паметта на жертвите на Холокоста е изключителна проява на хуманност и съпричастност към страданията на нашия народ по време на фашизма. Надявам се, че изложбата „Светът на ромите” ще обогати нашите общи познания и ще ни направи още по-силни и по-успешни. Включването на младите хора в спортните и културни прояви по повод 8 април ме кара да вярвам, че тук съществува непоколебимият стремеж към познание и развитие!”, се казва в поздравлението на кмета.

„Светът на ромите” представиха Васил Чапразов – редактор на агенция „Дром” и художникът Александър Дойчинов, председател на представителство на СБХ в Сливен. Симфоничният квартет „Сливен” изпълни произведения на известни композитори, сред които и на сливенецът Йордан Русчев - Данко.

Гости бяха областният управител на Сливен Татяна Петкова, директорът на общинската дирекция „Образование, култура и връзки с обществеността”Милена Чолакова,  ръководителят на Ромска академия за култура и образование Стела Костова, председателят на фондация „Здравето на ромите”д-р Стефан Панайотов, художници, писатели, музиканти, общественици, много граждани.

По рано през деня в двора на I СУ „Хаджи Мина Пашов” беше проведен футболен турнир. Отбелязването на Международния ден на ромите в Сливен в рамките на Програма ЗОВ предвижда и други събития. Следете ги в специалното фейсбук-събитие.

A colourful mosaic of spectacular dances, songs and Roma fairy tales impressed the audience of the concert today in the village of Ivanski, Shumen Municipality on the occasion of April 8 – the International Roma Day.

The stage turned into a world of beauty and appealing variety of colors and musical interpretations of various musical styles. The emotions of the audience exploded with the performance of students of the sixth graders of Primary School “Hristo Botev” on drums and saxophone of Goran Bregovic style. Seventh grader Sevdalina Ilieva charmed everyone with her angelic voice presenting the song “I was for you” of Bulgarian music icon Lili Ivanova. "She is our best singer in our village", commented people in the audience.

Lyudmila Andreeva, Healthcare Coordinator addressed the audience and introduced the newly appointed health mediator of the village of Ivanski. Irina Ilieva has already started working and people of Ivanksi could rely on her help.

The concert “Roma – past and future” has been prepared with the support of teachers and School Director Stefan Stoyanov during the extracurricular activities, organized within the Shumen project, part of the ZOV Programme under the Bulgarian-Swiss Cooperation Programme.

Parents, teachers and performers received fliers and information materials of the awareness campaign “Children’s’ health depends on us”.

The International Roma Day was also marked in the Kindergarten “Proletna Daga” on the town of Shumen. See here a photo story.

On 7 and 8 April, the International Roma Day was marked in Ruse, Borovo, Ivanovo and Vetovo with festivals and culinary exhibitions, organized by the local project within the ZOV Programme.

Several dance and vocal groups, as well as many individual artists from kindergartens and schools in the municipalities of Ivanovo, Borovo, Vetovo and Ruse took part in the festival "Stage under the sky". They performed the most famous Roma songs as "Hederlezi", "Sae Rom," "Arizona Dream" and Gelem, Gelem, the Roma anthem. Radilon Orchestra presented Roma popular songs at the festival.

Meanwhile, culinary exhibitions with traditional dished for the various ethnic groups took place in the towns of Borovo and Ruse. Representatives of the local Roma community and ladies from the three pensioners clubs in Borovo participated in the exhibition. The culinary event in Ruse was organized by the students in culinary of the city’s Vocational School for Tourism. The visitors of the two culinary events were introduced to the culinary specifics of the dishes of different ethnic groups, which had delicious taste and attractive appearance:  Armenian sweets, Turkish baklava, Roma goulash, Bulgarian ginger cookies and Jewish pastry with meat and egg plants. The participants received a certificate for their outstanding cooking skills for preparing typical dishes of various ethnic groups.

Nine volunteers will be soon start working in the mapping of the health, education and social status of the inhabitants of the three Shumen neighbourhoods “Mlada Gvardiya”, “Everest” and “Vitosha”, as well as in the village of Ivanski.  The volunteers originate from the local community of Roma and other vulnerable groups. Therefore, out team believes they will be of great help for gathering of precise information, which will result into adequate measures for solving the specific problems of the people from this community.

On 31 March, the nine volunteers received a training jointly with the experts of the Family Consulting Centre in Shumen. The Center has already started the work on the mapping and the volunteers will be helping in the coming stages of the survey.

The training included work on various situations that requited specific skills of interviewers. The experts from the Family Consulting Centre Volunteers and the volunteers grouped in joint teams and discussed the challenges of the upcoming field work

The mapping in Shumen started in February as part of the activities of the ZOV Programme (Health and Education for All) and it is expected to be concluded within a couple of months.

See here about our work in Shumen

On 10 April, trainers of the Association "Bulgarian-Romanian Trans-border Mediation Institute" (BRTMI) started the initial training of the six education mediators within the project of Municipality of Ruse under the ZOV Programme. Appointed after a contest procedure, the mediators will be working in 6 six schools in the municipalities of Ruse, Vetovo and Borovo.

The three-module training will last in total 18 days. After its successful completion the mediators will be receiving expert support in their daily work, monitoring and supervision to be of effective help to the school management, as well as for the families and the whole community. The mediators’ knowledge and skills will be regularly upgraded through continuing education.

The main task of the education mediators will be to be the linkage with the schools, represent the community in school, support children to attend school through motivation of their parents, facilitate the communication between families, community and school.

Not an easy task! The ZOV team believes that the first results will be soon visible in the project locations.

An Easter workshop has been recently organized in the Kindergarten “Proletna Daga” in the town of Shumen. Lots of emotions by the coloring the eggs for Easter made the day unforgettable for both, children and parents.

The initiative aims to introduce the children to the traditions of celebrating Easter and involve them in the preparation. The workshop was part of the Weekend Schools Initiative of the Shumen Project under the ZOV Programme. The parents consider the weekend activities as a perfect opportunity to spend more quality time with their children. Using nature materials, children, parents and teachers created beautiful Easter decoration that later was presented at a special exhibition in the school.

Dimitrina Mineva, Director of “Proletna Daga” presented intersecting facts and stories about Lazarus Saturday, Palm Sunday and Easter are celebrated in the different regions of Bulgaria.

Yordanka Dimitrova, Coordinator Education of the Shumen Project attended the event. Shortly after she had a discussion with the parents, as well as an informal meeting with the pedagogues of the Kindergarten “Proletna Daga” about the future project activities.

Free medical examinations for young women and mothers started in the ZOV-region in Shumen under the local project.

The improvement of the health status of vulnerable groups is one of the objective of the Shumen project “Interaction with the community – a factor for a better future and successful integration”, which is implemented under the ZOV Programme, as the Roma and representatives of other vulnerable groups have difficulties with the culture of health and access to medical care.

The medical examinations started first for the inhabitants of the neighbourhoods of Mlada Gvardiya and Vitosha and GP Dr. Katrandzhieva checked nine young women and mothers who are without health insurances. „The doctor was very kind and motherly explained me to come for a blood test in a month. Moreover, my husband can have an examination under the project”, says Biliyana Angelova. Selvet Ramadanova is also satisfied by the visit to the GP: “We need someone to help us to pay attention to our health”.

„We are trying to help young women, pregnant women and youth families, who do not have health insurances. The ultimate goal is the improvements of the health status of the vulnerable groups”, says Ludmila Andreeva, Healthcare Coordinator in the project.

The medical examinations at the GP will continue twice a month until 2019, when the project ends. Free prophylactic medical examinations are planned for a total of 300 women and 150 children aged 0-7.

See more about the planned activities here

Association "Bulgarian-Romanian Trans-border Mediation Institute" (BRTMI) resumes its campaigning against trafficking in human beings in the region of Ruse, north-east Bulgaria.

Information campaigns for raising awareness about the risk for trafficking of babies and Roma girls for sexual exploitation are part of BRTIM's activities under the project of Municipality of Ruse within the ZOV Programme. School children and representatives of the Roma community are the target groups of the campaigns.

Entitled “Let’s end with the slavery”, the new campaign begins on April 25, 2017 (Tuesday) with a flashmob, where students from School “Vasil Levski” in Ruse will take part. The event will be held in the courtyard of the school from 12:45 to 13:15 hrs. Students will share their sympathy with the victims of human trafficking around the world by releasing colorful balloons.

ZOV Programme invites everyone to become part of the campaign by writing messages of solidarity and expressing their citizen’s position against the trafficking in human beings, which is known as "the modern slavery".

Campaign “Let’s end with the slavery” will continue with a series of events in the communities and online activities until end of June 2017 in Druzhba neighbourhood in Ruse, as well as in the municipalities of Borovo and Ivanovo.

The project team of the ZOV Programme in Ruse is thrilled to announce two contests:
for a drawing  „The colours of the ethno-friendship”
and
for an essay “The harmony of the multi-ethnic tolerance“.

The contests are part of the activities of the project of Ruse Municipality for the social inclusion of Roma and other vulnerable groups within the ZOV Programme. They are open to children aged 7-18 from the project target areas – the municipalities of Ruse, Borovo, Ivanovo and Vetovo.

The deadline for submitting drawings and essays is 12 May 2017. The winners will be officially announced on 18 May 2017 before the concert “Ethnic rhythms without borders”.

This is the second edition of both contests. Their first edition enjoyed lots of interest.

See here details of the contests’ regulation (in Bulgarian)