Don Bosko Bulgaria Foundation

Don Bosko Bulgaria Foundation is non-profit, nongovernmental organization, which is working for public benefit. In the town of Stara Zagora we work since twelve years, and our activity is orientated to assistance the education and training of young people and children in risk, from all the ethnically groups; assisting the social integration and personal realization for the needy children, young people and adults; cooperation with other organizations, which have similar priorities. We organize meetings and talks, seminars, trainings for volunteers. We organize camps for children, excursions. The sport takes important place in our work with the young people. We do charity. In the moment our activity is focused on the Romany children and their parents from the Romany quarter Lozenec, town of Stara Zagora. We cooperate with the organizations: Caritas Bulgaria, Caritas Sofia, Caritas České Budějovice, VIS, Rome/Italy/, Salezians of Don Bosko, Bulgaria, the social service Center for accommodation from family type Small Group House, Stara Zagora municipality, Mission wings foundation, town of Stara Zagora, the municipality of town of Kazanlak, the NGO Center for development Mutual aid, town of Kazanlak. Our main goals are to raise the motivation of the children and pupils for the educational process and school work; to develop positive attitude to the school; to show the individual potential of the children and to encourage them to develop their interests and talents, including them in different kinds of workshops - music and dance, sport, fine arts, ethnic and tradition; to increase the self-assessment and self-confidence of the children and young people, true realization, encouraging and developing of their personal qualities and gifts; to expand the social contacts of the children from 1st till 8th class and to offer them alternatives for new friendships; to increase the level of education of the parents. The foundation is registered as deliverer of social service - Center for information, consultation, education and support (CICES). Five times per week we work in the Romany quarter Lozenec, town of Stara Zagora, in rented from us rooms, where we do different kinds of occupations - from daily study rooms, where we help children to manage with the school material, till workshops in fine arts, dances, guitar playing, foreign languages, Christian ethic. For now we work constantly with 80 children and young people age 6-21 years. We organize groups for girls and boys over 10 years old (future youth leaders), who we want to support in their developing and give them the necessary knowledge and skills for their future responsibilities. Since the beginning of 2011 the Foundation has a registered branch Don Bosko Bulgaria Foundation- branch Kazanlak. In town of Kazanlak a team from Bulgarian volunteers organizes also activities for children and young people, again in CICES. The Center is visited mostly by Romany children and young people - boys, works three days per week. The activities are: thematic games, which are developing the logical thinking, the combinatory; sport and games in open air, introduction in the Christian values. As a long term project we are building our own Center for work with children and their parents from the Romany district, Stara Zagora, which will have a sport hall and field. In the branch of the foundation, in town of kazanlak we also organize and lead courses for Bulgarian volunteers /animators/. One course is lasting two years and happens in 8 weekends. The participants are coming from all over Bulgaria. During the cours they learn how to become youth workers and youth leaders. The equipment of the Don Bosko Bulgaria Foundation is: office - the main residence of the foundation, with room for meetings, kitchen and sleeping rooms; 3 rented rooms in the Romany quarter Lozenec, where the activities with the children are hold, equipped with computers, printer, tables, chairs, different games, musical instruments a