News
As from the beginning of September, 2009 a sensory garden has been the most prominent outdoor feature at the family-type home known locally as the Pink House.
We’ve always wanted the little yard to be something more than an enclosed and grassed area with a slide and a swing. For the purpose we needed motivation, creativity and inspiration, complete devotion to the idea, friends with big hearts and skilful, tireless hands. It was particularly wonderful that the oldest resident –… Continue reading
The most exciting event during this summer for 15 young clients of the complex (ages ranging from 8 to 18) was the adventure camp which we organized for them near the city of Teteven lasting from 4th until 7th September 2009.
Some of the youngsters had special educational needs and for most of the group this was the first time they had to be apart from their families.
We selected the destination and the route traveled with one basic idea… Continue reading
On August 27, 2009, a play and therapy room especially designed for disabled youngsters was formally opened.
A substantial room is now chock-full of toys, soft-play equipment, a ball pool, touchy-feely panels and other paraphernalia designed for work with disabled children. There we can work in cooperation with other organizations that cater for some of the city’s least fortunate youngsters drawn from the surrounding community as well as for the young residents of the Pink House. All these can benefit… Continue reading
Many Bulgarian youngsters spend their summer holidays in rural villages with their grandparents while mums and dads work in the cities.
The EQ ‘junior contingent’ decamps from Ruse to Dryanovets about 45 miles away. There the Ruse team joins a group of youngsters from other northeastern cities who share the task of entertaining themselves on a day-to-day basis.
At the start of August, 2009 two budding events organizers, Annie and Sasho, both aged 12, took the bull by the horns,… Continue reading
EQ has had a close relationship with the Complex for Social Services in Ruse since it was first created contributing to staff training, technical assistance and events organization for the younger clientele.
As of 1st July, 2009 we took over the management of the facility and the wide range of social services provided in and around this community hub. We will work in concert with the Open Society Club – old friends – and together we’ve launched an ambitious programme… Continue reading
EQ has formed a tradition of staging a Christmas event for Ruse’s vulnerable children (recipients of social assistance). We must admit that it’s becoming a challenge to come up with new ideas.
This year, we were ably assisted by Ilya Devedzhiev, a professional entertainer who is an old friend of the team. He compered a highly theatrical event that involved both children and adults performing in a variety of sketches or tableaux that revealed intriguing and colourful traditions from around… Continue reading
Over the weekend of 6-7 December, 2008 an EQ team attended a conference in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki hosted by the local organization, ARSIS.
This event represented the culmination of the international project ‘Reinforcement of Non-formal Education and the Social Participation of Youth in Youth Centres’ and all seven partners (and five countries) were represented. Each partner gave a presentation featuring research findings relating to the subject of youth centre activity in their various locales and demonstrating a… Continue reading
On 25th November, 2008 the EQ team provided social workers, psychologists and ancillary workers from Ruse’s social welfare complex with a day-long introduction to the gentle art of professional counseling.
The main objective was to demonstrate how practical interventions in the lives of clients, although often essential, seldom lead to personal change. In fact, if repeated or prolonged, intervention can result in dependency or a situation in which the client takes advantage of social welfare resources. A system that is… Continue reading
On 3rd October, 2008, an EQ team gave a presentation for their Bulgarian peers in the world of Informal Education.
The event took place in the context of the project ‘REINFORCEMENT OF NON FORMAL EDUCATION AND THE SOCIAL PARTICIPATION OF YOUTH IN YOUTH CENTRES’ (EC Youth Programme, Action 5) and the platform was shared by the Bulgarian Gender Research Foundation who outlined their programme for working with young teenagers on the theme of Violence in School / Domestic Violence.
In… Continue reading
During September 2008, EQ played host to a group of visitors to Bulgaria representing the operational presence of “Hope and Homes for Children” (HHC), an UK registered charity, in Moldova and Transnistria. During their visit, the delegates were to visit three facilities representative of local best practice in child care – the Ruse and Shoumen complexes for social services for families and children and the Karin Dom Foundation in Varna.
While visiting the Ruse centre accompanied by Dessislava Encheva (its… Continue reading