Diana Angelova, who is a skilled social worker in the Centre for Social Support, took active part in the European project that helps young mothers who dropped out of school, to go back and complete their formal education. 

The project focuses on the development of support measures for young mothers, who are NEETs (Young people not in employment, education or training). They need support, so they can go back to school to complete their education or to acquire vocational training, which will improve their quality of life and their access to the labour market thereby ensuring a better future for them and their families. The project involves organisations from six countries that work in partnership – Austria, Bulgaria, Ireland, Spain, Italy, and Lithuania. Their main objective is to develop tools for education in support of the social workers, the teachers and the trainers in their work with young mothers, age 15 to 25. The tools will help the mothers to take decision to go back to school and complete their education. This will improve their opportunities for better-paid jobs and will provide them with better living standards. At the moment, in Bulgaria there are 20 social workers from four NGOs and state institutions who are specially trained and work in the towns of Vidin, Dupnitsa, Plovdiv, Ruse, Sofia and Stara Zagora.

Two social workers from Equilibrium were trained. The first training in the complex was conducted in the period 18.07.2018 – 20.07.2018, in which five mothers from the target group under the project were involved. In August, 2018 the second training was conducted.

Four of the mothers, with the support of an EQ expert, have returned to their education and are expected to graduate successfully, and the fifth mother is waiting for a special decision from the Ministry of Education.