When identifying Child Participation in action, we’ve grown accustomed to referring to a certain group of children who gather in the village of Dryanovets at weekends and during school holidays. They’ve been at it again!

A number of their public concerts have been staged in the village community hall with the blessing of the mayoress. The sign outside the hall badly needs repairing. Hoping to raise 120 leva, the kids asked the mayoress if they could stage a sale of… Continue reading →

On 24th-25th June, 2010 in the town of Troyan, Lovech district, EQ/HHC conducted training on adoption as a child protection measure for child protection officers from Lovech district.

The training was lead by Nadezhda Petrova, psychologist, with extensive experience in providing services for adoptive parents at the Centre of Social Support in Russe. It was attended by 10 representatives from 4 CPDs who are responsible for assessing candidates and 1 representative from the Regional Directorate of Social assistance who deal… Continue reading →

Effective prevention of baby abandonment in Lovech district is essential for the success of the joint project being undertaken by EQ and Hope and Homes for Children – ‘Closure of Teteven Baby Home and development of alternative social services’.

We conducted a two-day training on 20-21 May 2010 for 15 representatives of child protection, maternity hospitals and regional health authorities. This involved exploring the concept of prevention, partnership networks for information exchange and joint work, effects of institutionalisation of babies… Continue reading →

Within project ‘Closure of Teteven Baby Home and Development of Alternative Services for Children and Families’, implemented in partnership with Hope and Homes for Children UK, we have embarked on an ambitious public awareness and recruitment campaign on foster care in Lovech administrative district and several adjoining municipalities.

Village ‘road show’ – mayoral offices, directorates of social assistance and labour offices facilitate presentations delivered in community venues in key settlements. 10 presentations have been conducted between February and April, for… Continue reading →

On 24th February, 2010 Equilibrium (EQ) and Ruse’s Open Society Club (OSC) hosted a press conference in Ruse’s EU Information Office to announce our collaboration in the creation and implementation of an information campaign on the subject of foster care.

It’s our ambition to both improve public awareness of what foster care entails (as opposed to adoption for instance) and to encourage would-be foster parents to come forward. Fortuitously, our initiative coincides with government deinstitutionalization policy as recently publicized which… Continue reading →

For more information please visit http://bigbrother.nmd.bg/

Sign the petition at http://bgpetition.com/za_decata_na-Bulgaria/index.html

Setting up a model for the closure of institutions for babies’ is a joint venture of Equilibrium and Hope and Homes for Children, UK (experts in de-institutionalization in Central and Eastern Europe and Africa).

Bulgaria has reduced the number of children in residential care but the total number of children without permanent parents has not changed much in recent years. Institutions for children under the age of five remain under the management and administration of the Ministry of Health. The… Continue reading →

The third contest was dedicated to the National Day of the Leaders (in the sense of nationbuilding) that fall on 1st November.

The main goal of the organizers from Ruse’s from Art Studio Palitra was to honour the work of the leaders and just like them the children to create their own little world in which more or less to contribute the culture of our country.

Children aged 4 to 18 years from all over Bulgaria sent a total of… Continue reading →

On 31st October, 2009 Equilibrium’s youth club introduced Halloween to the multiethnic child population of the village of Drjanovets.

With adult support from the secretary of the community hall, the mayoress and mum Galya, Annie, Pipi organised the scariest party ever seen this side of Transylvania. Competing for best costume, witches, spider queen, monsters and devils paraded on a stage decorated with hanging skeletons and black balloons. The 20 young participants were treated to cold punch with eyes floating on… Continue reading →