The idea for the project was developed by the community center s board, in cooperation with national and municipal institutions dealing with children from poor families in the municipality of Peshtera. Upon consultations with representatives of the Foundation for Local Government Reform, the board began the implementation of the idea, in order to assist the target group (disadvantaged children).

A| project team was formed to develop program activities and application documents. The consolidated local efforts were funded under FLGR s Social Environment Improvement Program, supported financially by Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. The implementation of the project was initiated on October 1, 2003.

The preparations and the initiation of the project were hindered by the 2003 local elections. With some delay, the project started with its presentation to the public by the local media.

Aware of the social significance of the project, the Municipality of Peshtera allocated a target subsidy for the community center in the amount of BGN 3,440. The funds were used for the renovation of two rooms in which the children were to be trained. In this way the community center acquired a training center that provides a good basis for the implementation of other educational projects.

The criteria for the selection of the children for the project were based on the socio-economic vision about the Peshtera family. The project team solicited assistance from the school principals who developed lists of students without parents, with one parent, or students from families with incomes lower than the social minimum.

Announcements were posted at key places in the city and in the schools. A detailed material was published in the local press: The Community Center to Train Poor Children for Free . The media provided the public detailed information about the project.

80 children expressed their interest to get involved in the project. Based on criteria adopted in advance, 45 of them were selected and divided in three groups of 15. One of the groups was comprised exclusively of children from one of the two Roma neighborhoods in the city; many of these children left the neighborhood for the first time in their lives to go to the community center in the downtown area. Some of them had never seen a computer before. It was decided that having them trained as a single groups would be better, as leaving their neighborhood and meeting children from the other neighborhood would be too great of a challenge for them (traditionally, the residents of the two Roma neighborhoods don t communicate with each other and there is tension between them).

The teachers for the computer literacy, English and social problems were selected on a competitive basis on September 10, 2003. The criteria the teachers had to meet were formulated by a committee: teaching experience; relevant training, proven by documents; methodology of training. The committee made the hiring decision by a protocol. Curriculums were developed for the three classes, consistent with the age of the children in the groups. The textbooks and the other teaching materials were bought after a market study.

The training of the three groups began as required by law, with 150 teaching hours per class. The children attended the classes with interest. A month later, children were still coming with recommendations by their teachers to be included in the groups. The computer literacy teacher said that his trainees quickly complete all required operations. The English language group boasted lively dialogues and a great interest.

Unexpectedly for the project team, the attendance of the social problems class was 100%. It turned out that the children need to be talked to. Many questions had to be discussed. The participants expressed their opinions on topics, such as social isolation, stress, communication and various legal problems. As a result, the children boosted their self-confidence and belief in own capabilities. The number of those willing to be involved in the project, especially of Roma origin, is growing constantly.

The project was completed when the trainees in the three groups received their certificates from the mayor of Peshtera.

45 disadvantaged children were trained in computer literacy, English and social problems, which increased there general knowledge, self-confidence and vitality.

A replication effect was observed with regard to Roma children s interest in the project. This resulted to a great interest in involvement in the next project, See What I Can. The children feel the interest and the friendly attitude that they had lacked so far. Another important effect is the change of the attitudes of the children of Bulgarian origin; many of them were impressed with the capabilities and the persistence of the Roma children. A big step was made towards having the two ethnic groups open to one another.

There is a growing interest in the functioning of the community center in general, both by the citizens and the media. The media constantly sought information about the project and about future initiatives.

The community center team have boosted their confidence and are motivated to work on as many projects as possible, as they appreciate the effects from this type of work.

The consolidation of the efforts of the Municipality, the community center and the citizens has produced very good results.

For additional information, please contact :

Nikolai Zaychev

Deputy-Mayor

Municipality of Peshtera

4550 Peshtera

17, Doyranska Epopeya Street

Tel.: (0350) 2314, 2201, 2202

Fax: (0350) 2101