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Bulgarian Child Proposed Project:
Life Training Center
for Teens at Risk
Purpose: to prepare previously institutionalized teens for integration
into society by providing training in personal, social, and vocational
skills essential for self-support and independent living.
According to available UN statistics, there are more than 30,000
children living in state-run institutions in Bulgaria. Few are true
orphans. Some are children who have physical, mental or emotional
conditions/disabilities that have made them unacceptable to their
parents, who have relinquished their rights and responsibilities as
parents. Other children come from economically stressed families; others
have parents who are too ill to care for them; others are taken from
homes with repeated domestic violence, etc. Some of these parents
relinquish their rights, also. Still others are placed in these homes
because they are slow learners! When the children have finished their
“schooling” or reach the age of 18 (except the severely handicapped),
they can no longer be supported in a children’s home. If possible they
are returned to whatever “family” can be found. Those with no relatives
are considered the responsibility of the municipality from whence they
came. That community is supposed to provide shelter and employment for
the teens. This does not happen. With no support system and no
vocational skills, these teens are left to make their own way in the
world. There are no statistics or hard facts on what becomes of them. We
only know what we have seen and what directors of the homes tell us:
homelessness, criminality, prostitution, and sometimes imprisonment
We want to help redeem some of these lives.
This program targets young men as they leave the institutions at the age
of 18. This 12-month residential program would place 3-4 students with a
set of house-parents. Five family units would allow a total of 20
students. Before integration into society, the teens would have a
2-month period of supervised independent living in on-campus apartments.
The training program would focus primarily on three areas of
development:
1. Social/personal. The teens would learn appropriate personal grooming
habits as well as forms of culturally-accepted manners/conversation
skills that would ease their integration into society as a whole.
Character-building exercises, with an emphasis on Christian love and
Biblical principles and standards, would be central to the personal
development program.
2. Practical living skills. The teens would learn how to perform
household tasks such as cleaning, cooking, and laundry. Money management
would be taught in a classroom environment and with practical exercises
of food purchase, etc.
3. Academic/vocational skills. A. Basic academics. Low academic
preparation necessitates a remedial program in math and language skills.
A functional reading vocabulary would be essential - especially one that
includes terms related to the vocational training. Basic computer skills
will be taught.
B. Vocational training: gardening/landscaping, auto mechanics, and home
repair (plastering, painting, light construction). These skills offer
good employment prospects in Sofia and all of Bulgaria. Skills can be
taught in both a classroom atmosphere and with on-the-job training. The
proposed site offers a building already set up for auto repair and has
additional classroom space. The campus grounds are extensive and were at
one time well landscaped. Rose and flower beds, fruit trees, and a
gazebo grace the garden. The advanced students would be apprenticed to
master builders, mechanics, and other professionals in the Christian
community, thus putting them in a work environment that will encourage
them spiritually, emotionally, and vocationally. This is key to the
success of the program.
Personnel:
1. Program director. Responsible for conception, development, and
administration of training program, interfacing with BCI directors.
On-campus residence. May be missionary, LONG-TERM volunteer, or
appropriately trained Bulgarian.
2. House parents. Minimum 1 year commitment. Christian couples from
Baptist and other evangelical churches. One or both parents may also
work on the teaching or maintenance staff of the center. Their living
quarters and food budget would count as a significant part of their
salary.
3. Teachers/training staff. Ideally, two or three of the houseparents
would be qualified to teach some of the academic courses and/or
vocational skills. Other teachers could be from the Bulgarian Christian
community. Special coursework and/or training could be led in 4-week
units by volunteer instructors from abroad.
4. Secretary/accountant.
5. Lots of volunteers!
Proposed Property for Campus:
Approximately 20 minutes from the center
of Sofia. Good public transportation nearby. Residential area with local
shops.
Grounds: Approx. 1 acre. Totally enclosed with a stone wall and/or iron
grating.
Main building: Approx. 400 Sq. m. 5 family unit apts., large apt. for
director, 2 activity rooms, 2 classrooms, office, recreation/commons
room, plus 2 terraces.
Building 2: 100 Sq. m. Training for auto mechanics, classroom, heating
plant.
Buildings 3 and 4: 100 Sq. m. Each building is a duplex apt. These are
efficiency apartments with one bedroom/living room combination, bath,
and kitchen.
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