Burgas

Талантливите деца от Любителската школа "Шарена палитра" в Бургас, която е подкрепена по Програма ЗОВ, отново показаха своя талант. На Националния конкурс, посветен на 3-ти март, в който участваха над 200 рисунки, Андон Маринов (11г.) се класира на първо място! Втори бе Йоско Маринов (10 г.), а Красимир Мехмед (11г.) получи поощрение получи Красимир Мехмед-11г.

В Националния конкурс" Водата е живот" малките таланти показаха своето виждане за околната среда и водата, като завоюваха първи места - Ани Стоянова (13 г.) и Красимир Мехмед (11г.). Те ще получат наградите си на специална церемония на 15 март в изложбената зала на Съюза на художниците в града.

Не по малка гордост за школата бяха и грамотите от Националния конкурс за кукери - с. Стража. Благодарение на проекта и с подкрепата на общността в града, младите таланти продължават да развиват талантите си в Народно читалище "Хр.- Ботев 1937"-Бургас, с ръководител Атанаска Желязова.

През месец май на децата им предстои участие в голям пленер в гр. Сливен, също и през юни на пленер в Сарафово, Община Бургас.

Децата от "Ателие за приказки" с ръководител педагога Мария Стоянова по проекта успешно пишат своите литературни произведения и участват в литературни конкурси.

Сериозни успехи в направление „здравеопазване“ бяха постигнати по Интегрирания проект за социално включване на роми и други уязвими групи, изпълняван в рамките по Програма ЗОВ (Здраве и образование за всички), съфинансиран от Българо-швейцарската програма за сътрудничество.

Шестима здравни медиатори работят в трите общини, обхванати в проекта – Бургас, Средец и Малко Търново.

В Бургас те работят основно в кв. „Победа“, от 2016 г. От тогава досега, са извършени 130 гинекологични прегледа с цитонамазка, и 300 профилактични. 88 спирали са поставени на жени с цел предпазване от нежелана бременност - един от големите проблеми сред ромското малцинство, разказват медиаторите Стефан Коларов и Мария Янакиева:

„На много жени, които са многодетни майки със 7 – 8 деца, успяхме да поставим спирали“, споделят медиаторите. Имат случи, при които дори и по-възрастните родители настояват за процедурата за техните дъщери.

Сложен, обаче, остава въпросът с профилактичните прегледи, защото много от ромите са здравно неосигурени. Предстои да се направят и 200 изследвания за сифилис. Ще бъдат направени и здравни групи с младежи за половопредавани болести, а с децата се извършват беседи, на които се коментира важността на хигиената. Извършват се и задължителни имунизации.

В три направления работят здравните медиатори в Средец. Една от тях е насочена към репродуктивното здраве, пояснява една от медиаторите – Пенка Тотева.

В Средец провеждат и профилактични прегледи, включително и вътрешни болести, уши, нос гърло. Близо 600 души са минали през подобни изследвания, а целта е отново хората да си възстановят здравно – осигурителните права, но процесът там е труден: „Съдействаме като здравни медиатори за преглеждането на здравнонеосигурени жени при АГ – специалист, поставяне на спирала, извършването на цитонамазка, на микробиологично изследване. Към момента имаме около 90 поставени спирали“, пояснява Тотева.

Ирина Апостолова от Община Малко Търново споделя, че е доволна от свършеното в града и в Звездец, където са били насочени техните усилия. За първи път там са назначени здравни медиатори, а целите са сходни – информация по отношение на контрацепция и полово предавани болести и здравна профилактика. Над 500 са само профилактичните прегледи, а на половината, които са деца, са поставени и ваксини:

„Работата беше в посока увеличаване на здравноосигурените бременни млади майки. С цел – намаляване на ранните раждания, последиците от тях. Извършихме анкета за постигнатото – близо 30 души възстановиха здравните си права, след осигуряване и на работа. 221 жени бяха прегледани в рамките на проекта и им бяха поставени 41 вътрематочни спирали“, добави Апостолова.

И в тяхната общност обаче са наблюдава тенденция, че сред младото поколение вече все по-често планират бременността в семейството. А един от големите успехи, който Ирина Апостолова отчита, е, че след ремонт на сградата на кметството в Звездец вече има разкрита практика на общопрактикуващ лекар.  Нещо, което не е съществувало от близо десет години.

Изцяло нова сграда за предучилищно и начално училищно образование, оборудвана и обзаведена; проведени професионални обучения и тренинги с преподавателите; действащ екип от образователни медиатори; регулярни срещи с родители, деца и преподаватели и много малчугани, върнати отново в класните стаи.

Това е кратката равносметка за по-малко от три години в направление Образование и то само в гр. Бургас за свършеното по Интегрирания проект за социално включване на ромите и другите уязвими групи в общините Бургас, Средец и Малко Търново, изпълняван в рамките по Програма ЗОВ (Здраве и образование за всички), съфинансиран от Българо-швейцарската програма за сътрудничество.

Сградата, която отвори врати през септември 2016 г., вече е тясна за учениците, които я посещават, споделя директорът на Основно училище „Христо Ботев“ Радостина Ботушанска. Над 100 деца допълнително бяха обхванати и приобщени към образователния процес, след като в сградата започнаха да се обучават подготвителните групи с пет- и шестгодишните деца. Общо, в двете групи, тази година бяха приети 170 деца.

„Тази година приехме 4 групи шестгодишни и 3 групи петгодишни деца, а преди имахме само две групи. С новата сграда се решиха много проблеми. Децата вече не само имат игри на улиците, а и сериозни учебни занимания. Това е много важно за квартала, преди нямаше къде да отидат“, пояснява Ботушанска.

Капацитетът и на новата сграда, изградена по проекта, е запълнен на 100%, а родителите имат желание децата им да посещават училището. Ефектът е констатиран и от експерт на Министерството на образованието и науката, който при посещението си миналата седмица е намерил сериозна промяна и в знанията и поведението на децата.

„За да има успех, нещата не трябва да спират дотук, както и след края на проекта“, пояснява Радостина Ботушанска.

С това е съгласна и ръководителят на проекта Магдалена Япаджиева:

„Началото беше трудно, защототрябваше да накараме различните участници в проекта да работят в синхрон и с желание, за да имаме реален ефект. Благодарение на добрата работа на ръководството на училището, на ентусиазма и отдадеността им, успяхме да върнем доста деца в ОУ „Христо Ботев“. Сериозна е заслугата и на образователните медиатори към фондация „Областен ромски съюз“, които работят на терен и заедно с родителите“.

Тримата медиатори правят редовни срещи с хората от общността в клубовете „Отговорен родител“ и „Активен родител“. Процесът не е лесен, затова променяме начина на общуване и въздействие в движение, пояснява Десислава Тенева. Една от идеите им е да сменят ролите и чрез открити уроци да поставят родителите на мястото на преподавателите. Механизмите за връщане на децата, както и спирането на детските надбавки нямат ефект върху общността, затова ги убеждаваме от важността на образованието и им показваме реалната полза от него, добавя Тенева. Тя и нейните колеги са успели да върнат не едно и две деца в училище, убеждавайки и родителите, и самите малчугани. Важно е, обаче, този процес и проектът в тази насока да продължи, защото интеграцията не е дейност, която има начален и краен срок.

Малките бургаски таланти от школите по изкуства към Народното читалище „Христо Ботев 1937“ в Бургас продължават да жънат успехи на различни конкурси по изобразително изкуство. Дейността на Любителската школа „Шарена палитра“ се финансира по Интегрирания проект за социално включване на ромите и другите уязвими групи в общините Бургас, Средец и Малко Търново, изпълняват в рамките на Програма ЗОВ.

На скорошния конкурс „140 години от Освобождението на България от османско иго“, организиран от Община Бургас и Народно читалище „Фар 1946“, малките художници от школата „Шарена палитра“ спечелиха четири награди. 11 – годишните Зоя Христова и Антон Николов заеха първо място, 12 – годишната Ани Чолакова – трето, а 10 – годишният Георги Асенов получи поощрителна награда.

Възпитаниците на художествения ръководител Атанаска Желязова от Любителска школа „Шарена палитра“ се представиха отлично и на Общоруския конкурс „С хармония с природата“. Мария Маринова спечели второ място в категория „живопис“.

„Нашата мисия е, че всяко дете има право на равен старт в живота, право да учи и твори и да споделя мечтите си, които са безценни“, споделя Атанаска Желязова.

Отлично представяне постигнаха децата и на 9-ия Международен конкурс „Обичам моята родина“, организиран от Дружество „Русофили“ и Съюза на българските учители. Той се провежда в рамките на шест месеца, в които всяко дете рисува по една картина месечно. В първия му кръг 12 – годишната Мария Йорданова се класира на трето място, а в следващия зае и първо. 11 – годишната Калинка Янкова бе втора. В третия кръг 10-годишният Красимир Мехмед се класира трети.

Децата продължават да творят в читалище „Христо Ботев“ в бургаския квартал „Победа“, което също беше ремонтирано в рамките на Интегрирания проект за социално включване на ромите и другите уязвими групи в общините Бургас, Средец и Малко Търново.

Сто деца бяха върнати обратно в бургаското ОУ „Христо Ботев“ в кв. Победа. Това е крайният ефект от въвеждането на Механизма за съвместна работа на институциите по обхващане и задържане в образователната система на деца и ученици в задължителна предучилищна и училищна възраст. Образователните медиатори, назначени в рамките на Интегрирания проект за социално включване на ромите и другите уязвими групи в Бургас, Средец и Малко Търново също се включват в този процес.

Плюсът е, че това са подготвени хора, които знаят как се работи „на терен“, споделя ръководителят на проекта Магдалена Япаджиева.„Работата на учителя е да въздейства на децата в училище. А на медиаторът – да влезе в квартала, да стигне до най-бедната къща, за да обясни колко е важен този процес“, коментира тя.

Община Бургас работи успешно от 2008 година с образователните медиатори от Фондация „Областен ромски съюз“, един от партньорите по проекта.

По проекта са назначени трима медиатори - Габриела Панайотова, Десислава Тенева и Нигяр Гънгърлак. Те работят и с ученици, и с родители. Работата не е лесна, защото трябва да се напасне и графикът на възрастните. Медиаторите работят в две основни направления – клубовете „Активен родител“ и „Отговорен родител“.

Много от родителите са оставили изборът дали детето да ходи на училище именно на своите деца, споделя Габриела Панайотова. „Опитваме се да им обясним, че тези задължения са техни, а не избори на децата. Даваме им различни казуси, вкарваме ги в роли, за да им е интересно“, пояснява Габриела и уточнява, че вече имат устойчиви групи, които посещават редовно групите.

Медиаторите разказват и какво представлява Механизма, защо е важно детето да се върне в училище, разясняват и до какво водят отсъствията и защо е важно да се информират учителите за отсъствие от учебния процес. Разказва и един от случаите, в които успяват да върнат дете обратно в класната стая:

„Момичето имаше кожен проблем и се притесняваше да идва в училище, защото другите деца му се подиграваха. Посетихме семейството, говорихме и с с момичето, и с родителите и тя се върна в клас и вече ходи редовно“, споделя Габриела.

Работата на образователните медиатори продължава, а една от целите на Интегрирания проект е и да се гарантира устойчивост. Затова и тяхната дейност ще бъде финансирана от Община Бургас след края на проекта.

Проектът на Община Бургас се изпълнява в рамките на Програма ЗОВ (Здраве и Образование за Всички), финансирана от Българо-швейцарската програма за сътрудничество.

Art helps to promote true values and tolerance, and this is what we count on in our work with the children under the ZOV Programme.

Atanaska Zhelyazova and her children from the amateur art school „Colorful palette“ prove that every day. She has been working since the beginning of this year at the Library Meeting Centre „Hristo Botev 1937“ in Burgas. Creating the school is part of the  „Integrated Project for Social Inclusion of Roma and Other Vulnerable Groups in the municipalities of Burgas, Sredets and Malko Tarnovo“, funded under the ZOV Programme.

The talent of the children from the school will reach even Russia, after two children participating in the project painted in the „Bogoridi“ Gallery in Burgas. Guests from the city of Yaroslavl liked their works, invited them to an individual exhibition, and took three of the paintings with them with the intention of including them in an international contest.

The ambition of Atanaska Zhelyazova to open a child dance school called “Sun”, again under the project of the ZOV Programme, is already becoming a reality. Its leader Pavlina Krasteva now teaches the little talents from „Pobeda“ neighbourhood in Burgas how to dance “horo”. Today – in the Day of Tolerance, they will be visited by their peers from „Atanas Manchev“ Ensemble to dance together, holding hands. Indeed a day of friendship and tolerance!

A super hero, called to fight with bacteria, attended a lesson of the children from Preparatory group ІV B of „Hristo Botev“ Primary School in „Pobeda“ neighbourhood in Burgas. The health mediators Stefan Kolarov and Gabriela Panayotova brought Super Soap to help in an educational but at the same time entertaining meeting. Super Soap is stronger than Batman and Superman, because he kills all kinds of bacteria.

„Do you know what bacteria is?“, asked Stefan.
„Yeees!“ – cried the children in one voice.
„What is it?“, asked Stefan again.
„It’s batteries“, replied a child.

Thus, with the differences between bacteria and batteries, which turned out to be not so slight, the educational lesson began.

Bacteria can also be found on our hands, and, if we do not wash them regularly, then we spread them among our friends by shaking hands with them and touching them. Here Super Soap comes to help, tell the mediators before the smiling children. The regular washing of the hands with soap and water will reduce the harmful bacteria and their transfer. It is important to cut our nails regularly, so that bacteria do not pile under our fingernails.

In order to be certain that the children have remembered everything, the mediators gave them drawings of the human palm. The children will mark by themselves the spots where the bacteria accumulate the most.

Because bacteria make us get sick, sneeze and cough, tell the mediators, who, just in case, ask the children what is the proper way to sneeze. Of course, by putting our hand before our face.

At the end of the educational meeting the kids from „Hristo Boev“ Primary School received soaps, napkins and shampoos.

The library meeting centre „Hristo Botev 1937“ in „Pobeda“ neighbourhood marked its 80^th birthday yesterday evening. The celebration was organized in the performance hall, entirely renovated as part of the „Integrated project for social inclusion of Roma and other vulnerable groups“ of the Municipality of Burgas, implemented under the ZOV Programme (Health and Education for All) of the Bulgarian-Swiss Cooperation Programme.

Owing to the project of the Municipality of Burgas under the ZOV Programme, the library meeting centre looks in this magnificent way, shared its secretary Katerina Gageva during the opening of the celebration. The performance hall where the celebration took place was also repaired, after having been unusable since 2010. There is new heating, the chairs were replaced, as well as the entire equipment. The cost of the repair is nearly 140 000 levs, while that of the equipment - 13 607 levs. The roof, which was regularly leaking formerly, was also entirely replaced. The library itself was equipped with new shelves, and the storage room, where the ceiling had nearly collapsed, was repaired. An information centre was created and equipped with computers. In the chamber hall the children get together to read books and meet with authors.

We have implemented this project only from its material part, remarked the project manager Magdalena Yapadzhieva. „All the rest that takes place here can be attributed to certain people. And to a certain person, who, in my opinion, fills the word “renaissance person” with meaning. This is Katerina Gageva“, pointed out Yapadzhieva.

In her greeting address to the team of the library meeting centre, the team leader of the ZOV Programme Irina Faion congratulated the culture institution on their anniversary. „We are convinced that your experience and devotion to the children, as well as your mission to raise those children, yield excellent results. The path to good deeds and the children’s achievements are the brightest evidence for your contribution to the young talents of Bulgaria“, states the greeting address by Irina Faion.

As a proof of her words, the artistic works from the second national contest for child creativity “My incredible summer vacation” are still displayed in the performance hall. The library meeting centre hosted this contest, and the children from the neighbourhood were among the winners of prizes.  

The celebration was attended by representatives of almost all library meeting centres in Burgas, and the songs and dances of the children from children’s vocal group „Zvunika“ at Library meeting centre „Paisiy Hilendarski 1928“ and the cheerleading group at „Bratya Miladinovi“ Primary School made it colourful and entertaining.

In October 2017, there will be again free medical examinations of the vulnerable groups in Sredets and Malko Tarnovo. Part of them are funded under the „Integrated project for social inclusion of Roma and other vulnerable groups in Burgas, Sredets and Malko Tarnovo“, implemented in the framework of the ZOV Programme (Health and Education for All).

In March, medical examinations of 200 health uninsured residents of the town of Sredets were carried out. In October, the project team started the planned procedures for cervical cytology tests and microbiological tests of 50 women, again in the town of Sredets. They will be performed in the course of 5 months, so each month 10 women will be examined, and if necessary, they will be cured as well. The activities will be carried out in a medical facility in Burgas, while the Municipality of Sredets will provide the transportation to the district centre.

The activities for providing prophylactic examinations do not end with this. Staff from the Diagnostic and consultative centre „El Masri“ in Burgas will also be engaged in supporting the people in Sredets and Malko Tarnovo who have dropped out of the health system.   

„All of us in Diagnostic and consultative centre „El Masri“ are led by the desire to help people in disadvantaged position and provide them access to medical care. That is why, this year, too, the Diagnostic and consultative centre „El Masri“ will carry out free medical examinations and immunizations to people of Roma origin and people with impeded access to health services from the settlements in Burgas District“ says the owner of the medical facility Ziyad El Masri. They will carry out prophylactic ultrasound examinations of adults and pediatric prophylactic examinations of children /newborn and in pre-school age/. Except examinations of children who lack immunizations, children whose immunization scheme is incomplete for their age, children with no registration with a general practitioner or children with no permanent address registration in the settlements from Burgas District, the obligatory immunizations will also be applied for free.

The medical examinations will be carried out by Dr. Nedyalkov – radiologist, and Dr. Doncheva – pediatrician. Both doctors have rich experience and have proven themselves as professionals in their areas of expertise. In order to perform those examinations the staff from the medical facility will use their equipped mobile medical units.

Between 50 and 100 children and about 50 – 60 adults will be examined free of charge by the doctors from Diagnostic and consultative centre „El Masri“.

An amateur school for talented children from the Burgas neighbourhood „Pobeda“ has been operating since the beginning of this year at the Library meeting centre „Hristo Botev - 1937" in Burgas. Its formation is part of the „Integrated project for social inclusion of Roma and other vulnerable groups in the Municipalities of Burgas, Sredets and Malko Tarnovo“, funded under the ZOV Programme.

A total of 30 children aged between 8 and 13 years attend the school, divided into 7 groups. The children who wished to join it turned out to be more than the possibilities the project provides, so those who did not sign up were invited to join another formation at the library meeting centre.

Despite the difficulties at the beginning, the art instructor Atanaska Zhelyazova is optimistic: „The willingness, the sparkles in their knowledge-hungry eyes, the curiosity to learn, to know and to be intrigued, won my heart. Today I feel proud with those children, with their achievements, with their perseverance and with the acquired skills to work in a group, as well as with the support rendered by part of the parents. For those few months they taught themselves in tolerance towards each other, they started to support and congratulate each other for the achieved success, to express their opinion and to share their own view about art in drawings“, says Zhelyazova.

In the past months, the children from the school took part in a number of competitions, winning awards and certificates. Besides the art of drawing, they also create Kukeri masks, they study the macramé technique, make cards, tapestries, and martenichki. Atanaska Zhelyazova acquaints them also with the Bulgarian customs and culture. The activities of the school spread beyond the framework of art, provoking reading and love of the written word. The theme of ecology is also covered, as the children were prompted to create drawings with seeds, plants and eco materials.

The art instructor Atanaska Zhelyazova shares that she goes beyond the framework of the project. „After the obligatory classes that are strictly observed, I started showing them various techniques from the folk art as well - needlework, knitting, macramé, beadwork, bead making - which the children drew on paper afterwards. One such example are the embroideries from the Bulgarian folklore that were represented in their drawings of folk costumes. Part of the children learned to knit using one and two hooks, and we learned how to make bracelets and necklaces from beads“, tells Zhelyazova.  

Professor Ivaylo Tarnev, one of the leading neurologists in our country, conducted training of health specialists and health mediators in Burgas at the end of last week.  

This is the second training of this kind in the framework of the Integrated Project for Social Inclusion of Roma and Other Vulnerable Groups in the municipalities of Burgas, Sredets and Malko Tarnovo, funded under the ZOV Programme.

The choice of Professor Tarnev for this particular training is not accidental. Besides a brilliant expert and doctor, and discoverer of the genetic disease among the Roma people, called Lomska disease, he is also chairman of Foundation "Health Problems of the Minorities". Dr. Tarnev has been dealing with these themes for years. Before the health mediators and specialists he said that his first contact with Roma people was exactly upon discovering the Lomska disease, in 1994. After that he went deep into the problem, travelled around the country, and met different groups of Roma people. However, they are not one and the same. In one village there could be five different Roma communities – with different culture, lifestyle, and with different diseases, explained the professor.

The health status of the Roma people, its specifics and the health politics that improve the access of vulnerable groups to healthcare, were part of the topics that professor Tarnev referred to in the training of health specialists and health mediators form Burgas region.

„The explorations of the health status in the Roma neighbourhoods showed very bad tendencies. There is a very high sick rate of infectious diseases and much higher mortality rate caused by such diseases. The percentage of immunizations is much lower. It is important to organize the prophylactic programmes adequately and effectively “, said Professor Tarnev.

He explained that one of the most important factors for work with the Roma people is getting to know them. When you gain their trust, when you show that you are familiar with them, then working with them becomes easier, and it is also easier to organize the prophylactic activities, added the specialist.

Prophylactic is one of the important aspects of work in the framework of the ZOV Programme (Health and Education for All) in the sixth regions where the Programme operates.

Read more about our work in Burgas

The 80th  anniversary of Library Meeting Centre „Hristo Botev 1937“ in „Pobeda“ neighbourhood in Burgas will be celebrated this year. Owing to the project for Social Inclusion of Roma and Other Vulnerable Groups, funded by the ZOV Programme, the Library Meeting Centre will meet its birthday after a serious repair.

„Hristo Botev 1937“  is the only  library meeting centre in the Municipality of Burgas with a large hall for theatre performances. Nevertheless, the last play that was performed in it before the repair was in 2009. A year later the hall was practically useless because of its poor material state.  The staff relied on old heaters, which only produced noise and consumed energy without actually heating the premises.

Today the situation is different. Library Meeting Centre „Hristo Botev 1937“ is regularly visited by actors from Burgas and Pomorie, who attract the child audience from „Pobeda“ neighbourhood, and the hall turns out to be narrow for them. The air-conditioners in the premises are coloumn-type and powerful enough to heat it, and everything in the hall has been replaced and renovated. The entire repair, funded under the ZOV Programme, amounts to almost 140 000 levs, and the equipment - 13 607 levs. The roof, which was regularly leaking before that, has entirely been replaced.  The library was renovated with new shelves. The storage room, where the roof had nearly collapsed, was also repaired. A new information centre, equipped with computers, was opened at the centre. The children will enjoy a small chamber hall, where they can get together, read books and meet different authors.

Katerina Gageva has been secretary of the library meeting centre since 1984. She says that there have always been difficulties and there will always be, but they try to cope with them. They educate 30 children under the project of Burgas Municipality alone, and apart from that, there are another 40 children educated at the Library Meeting Centre. They have a formation for amateur and applied arts that regularly wins awards from different competitions. They have also started dance classes – folk and standard dances. Their aim is that the children acquire a general dance culture and get acquainted not only with the “horo” but also with the waltz, cha-cha-cha and other.

„The children need this. Here, in the neighbourhood, they are centralized, they do not go out anywhere. It is important for us that the children have somewhere to go, have something to see, feel more important, gain self-confidence. And this will also help their socialization“, shares Gageva.
"The main difficulties before the library meeting centre are related to funding", pointed out Katerina Gageva. For the moment, they rely on the subsidy and donors but without the repair carried out with the funding under the ZOV Programme, the library meeting centre would not  have had the possibility to function normally and educate the children.

„The Integrated Project for Social Inclusion of Roma and Other Vulnerable Groups“ is under the ZOV Programme and is implemented with the financial support of the Bulgarian-Swiss Cooperation Programme. Partners to the project are the Municipality of Sredets, the Municipality of Malko Tarnovo, „Regional Roma Union“ Foundation, „Hristo Botev“ Primary School in „Pobeda“ neighbourhood in Burgas and „OFF Media“ Foundation.

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An emotional celebration on 30th May marked the end of the school year in „Hristo Botev“ Primary School in „Pobeda“ neighbourhood - Burgas. Many of the children study at the school support building, built entirely under the local project for Social Inclusion of Roma and Other Vulnerable Groups in the framework of the ZOV Programme.

With songs, dances, cheerleading performances, poems and many smiles, the preparatory groups, which comprise nearly 200 children, graduated this school year. The celebration was organized in the gym – a facility that the school lacked before the implementation of the project. Another positive effect of the work under the ZOV Programme is that in the course of one year, the children, most of whom are bilinguals, have literally „got to speak“ Bulgarian language: they can freely communicate in Bulgarian, and study Bulgarian songs and poems.

For the summer period, the school has planned additional study activities in the preparatory groups and the elementary stage classes. There will be extracurricular activities and sports as well. The planned events also include excursions for the children.

Health specialists from Burgas, Sredets and Malko Tarnovo passed an introductory training last week.  The two-day training was organized by the National Network of Health Mediators and is part of the integrated project of the Municipality of Burgas implemented under the ZOV Programme. The participants in the training included doctors and nurses from Burgas, Sredets and Malko Tarnovo.

Tsveta Petkova and Ognyan Kamenov focused on the need for an individual approach not only to the vulnerable groups of people but also to the separate groups of Roma people. The lecturers presented the Roma culture and history, the specifics of the separate groups, the work in multiethnic environment.

„We have worked with medical specialists for many years now, and we share both good and bad practices“, says Tsveta Petkova. „With the right approach we manage to change the attitudes and raise awareness about the need for health care among even the most marginalized groups“.
 „We have been working for about 20 years with various Roma communities. A lot of Bulgarians think that the Roma people are one whole community but this is a wrong perception. Not only are they very different, but each group, each neighbourhood has its specific peculiarities – the language they speak, their way of life“, added Kamenov.

During the training Kamenov gave an example with the Roma people from Garmen. The true representatives of this community still lead their nomadic way of life. According to the trainers, the specialists should work with those people individually in order to have an effect.

The participants in the training also agreed with this statement. Diana Ivanova and Ruska Berbenlieva are nurses in the town of Sredets. They both like working with children and consider it as a vocation. Diana, who is of Roma origin, shares that there is a need for similar trainings: „There is such a need, because the work is very difficult. We work basically with Roma people, the most difficult part is communication“. Ruska added that the main difference comes from the way of life. „They cannot recognize what the priorities are in raising their children. They do not put it in the first place “, says she.

The next training under the „Integrated project for social inclusion of Roma and other vulnerable groups in the municipalities of Burgas, Sredets and Malko Tarnovo“ will be led by medical specialists. It is planned to take place in July.

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“.

Sixty-six teachers from the towns of Burgas, Sredets and Malko Tarnovo recently took part in a second training under the Integrated Project for Social Inclusion of Roma and Other Vulnerable Groups, implemented by the Municipality of Burgas in the framework of the ZOV Programme.

One of the topics covered in the training was the mapping as an interactive approach for working with children and students in a multicultural environment. „The teacher should plan the whole activity and give detailed guidance to the children about what they are going to do. For example, a tour as part of the “Environment” lessons, getting to know the school or the neighbourhood... And after the tour everyone should draw up a map based on their observations. At the end, we get different maps, the result of different perceptions“, tells the lecturer Assoc. Prof. Maria Aleksieva from Burgas Free University. She is convinced that this approach yields interesting results, because the children are active and want to explore the world in their own way.

The belief in the need for innovative approaches in the social inclusion of the children is also shared by Radostina Botushanska, assistant principal of „Hristo Botev“ Primary School. The school is attended by children of Bulgarian, Turkish and Roma origin and there have been many cases when some of them crossed the threshold of the school with a very limited vocabulary of Bulgarian words but then graduated with good marks.

And all that happens due to the teachers – to their efforts and the innovative approaches they apply. Yet, this is not the only factor.

There are now education mediators involved in the project activities. Three of them work mainly in the newly established „Responsible parent“ and „Active parent“ clubs in Pobeda neighbourhood in Burgas. Their purpose is to motivate parents to send their children to school. The ambition of the project in Burgas is to cover about 300 parents. The mediators will soon start working „on the terrain“– visiting the parents’ homes.

“What we have started is not easy and the results cannot be expected to take place right away”, tells Desislava Teneva, one of the mediators. “There is no „magic wand“, but we can already notice the positive signs.” The mothers in the neighbourhood started bringing their friends to the meetings of the „Responsible parent“ Club.

Two education mediators are also working in Sredets already.

It is expected that after the end of the project the mediators could possibly be employed permanently at the municipal administrations.

In mid-January, 50 children and parents from “Pobeda” neighbourhood in Burgas participated in vigorous and attractive contests for first-aid giving. The “contest” aimed to test the skills acquired during the 2016’s trainings organized in Burgas Municipality by OFF Media Foundation for the social inclusion of Roma and other vulnerable groups.

In view of the winter season, the contestants handled injuries typical for the season, such as: how to immobilize limbs while waiting for the medical team and specialized transport. Children and adults participated in the practical demonstrations how to act in emergency situations: how to stop extensive haemorrhage, how to pull out stuck tongue, how to act when someone faints, etc.

This contest ended the first-aid trainings organized by OFF Media Foundation. Over 100 trainees participated in the sessions in Burgas, Sredets and Malko Tarnovo.

66 teachers from three schools in Burgas, Sredets and Malko Tarnovo, and four educational mediators from “District Roma Union” Foundation were trained for working with children studying in multicultural educational environment.

The two-day training was conducted by experienced specialists from Burgas Free University and passed in two modules: “Teaching art to children studying in multicultural educational environment” and “Working in multicultural environment with children of special educational needs and children with retarded psychological development”. 

One of the main objectives of the project, which is implemented in Burgas under ZOV (Health and Education for All) Programme, is the full inclusion of Roma children in the educational system. The attracting and keeping of Roma children in school calls for individual approach in each case; extra help will be provided for those pupils who lack behind with their studies.

The work with the children’s parents was another highlight of the action. Interaction was being sought along the line “parents – children – kindergarten – school.” Another objective of the project was to explain that dropping out from school is a significant issue. The discussions paid attention to the management of anger. New approaches for work with bilingual children were presented, aimed at better mastering of the Bulgarian language.

Similar training for teachers and educational mediators will be organized, again, in the next year. The programme foresees two single-day trainings with “demonstration” lessons to be delivered by the teachers included in the project.

In October, a total of 30 residents from Malko Tarnovo and village Zvezdets were trained in first-aid providing: they were trained how to stop running blood, how to react in situations of emergency and how to recognize the symptoms of stroke and heart attack. Similar courses were organized for the residents of Burgas and Sredets. Over 100 participants have already been trained under the programme.

The contests involving the participation of 62 trainees – parents and children – were met with great interest. The contests simulated real-life incidents in which the participants, organized in five-member teams, demonstrated their newly-gained knowledge on first-aid providing.
In the end of November, similar contests will be organized for the residents of Pobeda neighbourhood in Burgas.

The trainings form part of the “Integrated project for social inclusion of Roma and other vulnerable groups” implemented by the local government of Burgas within the framework of ZOV (Health and Education for All) Programme.
 

The Minister of Labour and Social Policy Zornitsa Rusinova, the Manager of Swiss Office for Cooperation Roland Python and Mayor Dimitar Nikolov inaugurated the building for preschool and elementary-school education at Primary School “Hristo Botev” in Pobeda neighbourhood, built with Swiss funding.

The value of the building and installation works is 928 973.28 BGN. The funds have been provided by the Bulgarian-Swiss Cooperation Programme with 10% co-funding by the local government of Burgas within the frame of “Integrated project for the inclusion of Roma and other vulnerable groups” implemented as part of ZOV Programme. The local government of Burgas successfully finished the project before the deadline and the building is already in operation.

“We are satisfied because of the very good cooperation between the stakeholders, the local government, the local community, the partners and the Ministry. The most important thing for us is not the building itself but the fact that more residents have been given opportunity for access to education. This being said, today’s event is a very important step in the project; now we have more children who will receive preschool education, which, in turn, will help them stay in the educational system,” said Roland Python.

"We are grateful to the local government and to the Swiss Programme because our children have been given the chance to study,” said Hristo Yardanov, resident of Pobeda neighbourhood. “Our children will receive education and will become equal citizens. As parents we’ll do what we can to persist with their education. We want our children to go to school.”

The Minister of Labour and Social Policy Zornitsa Rusinova did not hide her satisfaction with the inauguration of the building. “Three years ago, when I was manager of the Bulgarian-Swiss Programme, we started this initiative with the Deputy-mayor for Culture and Education Yordanka Ananieva. Today I see a completely finished project. I appreciate the success achieved by the local government of Burgas and its partners in the project. Today we witness the fact that 200 children have been given a chance to regularly attend preschool classes and be helped by speech therapist and psychologist, and to be provided with healthcare. Such approach is of key importance for the successful inclusion of the most marginalized groups in our society,” said Zornitsa Rusinova.

 “Be active, be regular in school, and don’t miss classes. Dear parents, be persistent that your children attend classes regularly. This is important for the future success of your children in life,” said the Mayor of Burgas Dimitar Nikolov.

700 children are being educated in Primary School “Hristo Botev,” which is the single school in the neighbourhood. 75% of these children are Roma, the majority are bilingual and they need full-day organization of educational process in order to learn Bulgarian well. There is no kindergarten in the region and the school has no capacity to cover the larger number of elementary-level children in the full-day format of studies. Primary School “Hristo Botev” did not have a gym until recently; it did not have a room for parents’ meetings and festive events either. Many of the children (about 20%) do not attend school regularly; 8-10% drop out from school after the elementary school level. It was the parents who pointed out the need for more educational facilities in Pobeda neighbourhood.

The newly inaugurated building will host three preschool groups and two groups of children covered in the full-day format of studies. The first floor contains the classrooms and the gym. The second floor hosts the classrooms for the preparatory-school groups, the medical office and a teaching-consultancy room, speech-therapist and psychologist offices, and a room for parent consultancies.