On June 1, a charity  shop to raise money for disadvantaged children is opening in Shoumen. Dar (Gift) is the first shop of its kind in Bulgaria, says George Bogdanov of the Social Activities and Practices Institute (SAPI), the non-government organisation behind the initiative. Established in 2001, SAPI is dedicated to the development of social work as a helping profession enhancing the social inclusion of vulnerable groups in Bulgarian society. In August last year, they opened the complex for Social Services for Children and Families in Shoumen. The activities at the centre include:

specialised training for experts in the helping professions social services  for disadvantaged people through support for inclusion in community life a mother and baby unit providing support for mothers and mothers-to-be support for foster families activities and support for children with behavioural problems support groups for young offenders support for victims of abuse.

The institutes’s main goal is to work for the reintegration of disadvantaged children into society. The local team in Shoumen comprises 25 employees, primarily social workers, psychologists and educators, and 53 volunteers, working with children and families at risk.

The  charity shop initiative came about partly through Bogdanov’s own experience working as a volunteer for the Samaritans in England. He was impressed with the system and thought that it could be put into practice in Bulgaria to raise funds independently, without having to rely on foreign aid or money from the state. “We need our own money to develop our own services,” he said.

At the moment, it is common practice in Bulgaria for people to make donations of clothes or goods directly to orphanages or other institutions, but with Dar, the approach is for people to make donations to the shop so that the proceeds can be invested in sustainable solutions to the institutionalisation of children. Rather than putting funds into institutions, SAPI invests in services to support the desinstitutionalisation of children, such as providing support for foster parents, for families with newborn children and for grandparents or extended families caring for children who would otherwise be put into institutions. They would like to raise funds for small, community-based flats where children could live under the care of trained social workers. “The money will only be spent in alternative services,” says Bogdanov, “not in institutions”.

In March this year Gill Timmis, a social worker from London, organised a sponsored bike ride to raise money for the project, and collected 4000 pounds towards the Dar initiative. The charity shop will be run by Koko Panosinian and staffed by volunteers. A report on the funds raised and their investment will be posted in the shop and on SAPI’s website every month.

SAPI would like to ask citizens and companies to donate goods to be sold in Dar. These can be in the form of new or second-hand  articles such as books, furniture, kitchen appliances, electrical goods, tapes, CDs, videos, DVDs, etc. They are also interested in receiving factory seconds from companies and are looking for a volunteer to transport goods from Sofia to Shoumen.

Donations are welcome in Sofia at SAPI’s offices at 24 Shandor Petyofi Str (near Five Corners) and in Shoumen at 69 Simeon the Great Str. Tel: (02) 852 4713 / 0896 806 711. Email:sapi@sapibg.org.

For more information about SAPI, go to: www.sapibg.org.