The lack of interest and understanding on behalf of the community resulted in a strong social isolation of the 57 children within the home for mentally disabled children in the village. 57 children, suffering from mental disabilities, sometimes with also physical disabilities, are currently living in the child facility. All they need special attention and care. The lack of equipped spaces and rooms for rehabilitation were creating even more difficulties in the every-day care and wish to improve the condition of the children. The child facility personnel, taking care for the children, was insufficient and additional human resources were needed to satisfy the existing need for providing normal social care to the children.

The lack of regular contact with the outside living environment posed negative effect on the children and led to their social isolation. On the other hand, the community was not aware of the problems of these children and stayed ignorant towards their needs for social contacts, care and attention. The idea behind establishing a non-governmental organisation was aiming exactly at reducing the level of unawareness among the local people and activating the people s attention and initiatives towards the mentally disabled children s well being.

The project started with a discussion meeting with representatives from the municipal leadership of the Municipality of Bobov dol, the Social Care Directorate and other interested institutions and organisation from the municipality. The general conclusion from the meeting was that these institutions did not demonstrate strong interest towards partnership initiatives. In the process of social integration of the disabled children the leadership of the home, initiator of the project, will have to work alone, without the active support from the relevant institutions. That fact did not discourage the project promoters and they continued to plan the activities and steps within the project implementation, so that better living and social environment for the children is ensured.

Under the initiative of the project team, a first meeting of the members of the new non-governmental organisation was held. Several people from the village took part in the meeting, together with the personnel of the child facility. The members of the young organisation discussed its by-laws and objectives and chose its Managing Board. In My 2006 the official court registration of the NGO was accomplished and the new organisation was titled Do Not Forget About Us! . Through the establishment of the organisation the project team set a new path for creating better pro-active support to the disabled children, protecting their interests and rights and raising the public awareness towards the problems of these children, overcoming the social isolation they have been put into.

Another important task within the project was to ensure additional staff members, who can help the work of the people taking care for the disabled children in the home. After a series of interviews the Home Director appointed a new social worker. It was a unprecedented and unusual case: to have additional staff working at the child facility and helping the care for the children. Of great use has been the help provided by the social worker, who has been long-term employed after the official end of the project.

Among the most significant and visible results from the project implementation has been the complete renovation and reconstruction of a room in the child home, which has been transformed into a new and modern rehabilitation room. Many few social care facilities in the region have such well equipped and furnished rehabilitation hall, according to the existing needs of the children and to the contemporary methods of rehabilitation. The children from the Home have the possibility to take part in regular rehabilitation activities, led by the facility s rehabilitator and thus work for the improvement of the mental and physical condition of the children.

Through many small-scale initiatives the project team created better understanding among the population outside the walls of the Home and managed to take away the psychological barrier in the minds of the local community towards the disabled children. There were many information campaigns and events in the 4 schools on the territory of the Municipality of Bobov dol, which proved efficient and useful. Several lectures have been organised for the children from these schools, explaining the needs and problems of the disabled children and also several visits of the students to the Home were initiated. Some of the students coming to the child facility were facing for a first time a meeting with a child, suffering from mental or physical disabilities. After several visits to the Home, the children became more aware of the problems of their new friends and organised many initiatives to bring joy and smiles on their faces: concerts have been organised, charity campaigns among the citizens of the whole municipality, dance performances and exhibitions on occasions like Christmas, New Year, Easter, Spring Day, etc. As a result from the charity campaign, in which active participation took many students, their parents, organisations and people from the village, many warm clothes, foods, medicines and other necessary products were donated, amounting on more than 1500 lv.

• A new NGO has been born as a result from the project implementation, which will undertake initiatives towards the better social integration of the disabled children and raise the public awareness towards their problems.
• A new and modern rehabilitation hall has been created within the Disabled Children Home in the village of Gorna Koznitsa, which provides great conditions for regular work with these children. Individual rehabilitation programmes have been developed, so that each child can improve its physical and mental condition according the existing needs.
• The overall awareness and understanding among the community of the problems of the disabled children has been raised, and many of the initiatives put together members of the community to work together for the improvement of the social life of the children in the Home.
• Nothing was more valuable than the happy smiles in the eyes and on the faces of the children from the house, born by the contacts and meetings with other children. This has been the greatest achievement of the project.

Contacts:

Margarita Parmakova

Director,

Mentally Disabled Children Facility,

Village of Gorna Koznitsa, Municipality of Bobov dol

Aleksander Dimitrov Community Centre

Tel.: (07031) 215

[email protected]