When one hears the words orphans and orphanages, most people think of babies and children, probably at about the age of five and under. Images are conjured up of poor living conditions, large overcrowded and run-down buildings, institutions where people are taken to but never leave.

In Bulgaria, once children turn 18, they are no longer permitted to stay in the institutions, and they are forced to find work for themselves and make their own living arrangements.

The education of an orphaned child is something that is rarely discussed and quite possibly never even considered when talking about orphan institutions. That is up until recently, when the Bulgarian Charities Aid Foundation (BCAF) became involved.

Bulgarian Charities Aid Foundation
The Bulgarian Charities Aid Foundation is a non-government organisation that has been working in Bulgaria for more than 10 years. Designed to encourage philanthropy and corporate social responsibility, BCAF is working with the projects team to ensure that all projects receive monetary contributions or in-kind support. A project that was undertaken by the BCAF in 2006 is the Get Ready to Succeed programme, offering educational scholarships to orphaned children so they could continue their university education, or so that high school students would be able to attend university.

Penka Tsvetkova, corporate services manager for BCAF, is the person spearheading the campaign. Her main role in this project, which is occurring in partnership with the International Women’s Club – Sofia (IWC) and the Orphan Foundation, is to contact donors and seek potential new sponsors for future scholarships.

Faced with cynicism within some circles, Penka was told last year that she would find it difficult to come up with 30 students with grades good enough to meet the stringent criteria. She proved the critics wrong, had many legitimate applications and had the difficult task of deciding who would be awarded the prizes. “Last year we had enough partners involved to award 50 scholarships. This year we would really like to see that number increased to 70 or 80. Our sponsors this year include the IWC, Eurofootball, Intracom, Mail.bg, Microsoft and BNP Paribas. There is a possibility that we may receive sponsorship from two other large corporations, and we have every hope that they will come on board and join us in this worthwhile cause.”

International Women’s Club
The IWC was a major contributor to the programme in 2006, providing 20 000 leva towards the education of young orphaned people. Their involvement with a side project about a foster foundation introduced them to the work of BCAF.

With some fiery determination and a will to succeed, the IWC solicited sponsorship from donors and became a major contributor to the programme. It is envisaged that this year they will be able to sponsor even more students.

 Marie Halbherr, representing the IWC, has a great passion for motivating orphaned children in institutions. “Orphaned children are statistically much worse off educationally compared with others with a family for a number of reasons.” she says. “First of all, they suffer the trauma of having lost one or both parents. Their environment is not always conducive to study, especially if they are in an institution as they are often faced with the disinterest of the teachers who earn a pitiful wage for the work they do. There is also a fatalistic attitude of some staff in some institutions suggesting that orphaned children do not face much of a positive future. We are hoping to change that by working together with the BCAF and offering this incentive programme.”

Scholarship winners at university are given 1000 leva each, which is delivered in monthly instalments of 100 leva, while high school students receive 700 leva, or 70 leva a month. This is for them to purchase textbooks and additional resources they need to further their education.

Penka from BCAF is quick to point out that the money goes into the students’ bank account – it cannot be accessed at all by the institution or anyone other than the student. “Once a child reaches 16 years of age, they are considered responsible enough to have their own bank accounts, so we deposit it into there,” she says.

Requirements for the prize
For university students, they must study at a Bulgarian university accredited by the Ministry of Education. They must have marks from the previous school year of no less than 4.5 (out of a possible 6), and they must have no parents or only one parent. For first-year university students, the results of their entrance exams plus the results from their secondary schooling must be higher than 4.5 (out of a possible 6).

The eligibility of high school students is similar in that the applicants must have only one or no parents, they must regularly attend a Bulgarian secondary school and they need to have marks from the previous school year of no less than 5 (again out of 6).

In addition to this criteria, applicants need to provide evidence of social status: source of income, pensions, other scholarships, salaries of the applicant and parent if applicable. The school is required to provide a statement with the application stating the previous years results, and the application must include a declaration of confidentiality, application letter and other documents.

BCAF has a website where applicants can print off an application form, and each school, university and institution displays notices and advertisements about the scholarship opportunities. The site is currently in Bulgarian only, so BCAF is currently looking for English, Dutch and German speakers to volunteer their time to translate and update the website to make it more universally friendly.

In addition to providing information, the website is one of the first in Bulgaria to take online donations from individuals or corporations using a debit or credit card from both Bulgaria and other countries.

Case in point
One of the scholarship winners from last year is a young Sofia University student by the name of Svilena. Sadly, Svilena and her older sister were orphaned after both of their parents died when she was just 18. Too old to be put into an institution, she was cared for by extended family. She has worked hard at school and received excellent grades, knowing that a good education is very important for her future survival. Fortunately for Svilena, her hard work and dedication paid off and she was a recipient of an educational scholarship. Currently studying English Theology, Svilena hopes to continue after her degree and receive a master’s degree. Her continual good grades have earned her the right to apply again for another scholarship.

Having already travelled abroad, living in Spain for a brief period, Svilena has no desire to leave her birth country once she completes her degree. “Bulgaria is my home, it is where I live, where I study and where I will work. I do not need to go anywhere else any more – everything I need is right here.”

While the deadline for scholarship applications is early October, fundraising for sponsorships is open until late October and is open to all companies, corporations and individuals who wish to sponsor a student. Announcements of new scholarship winners for this year will be held sometime early November at a special award ceremony at Sofia University, and it is envisaged that previous winners will be able to meet with this year’s winners to offer advice and share their study success strategies.

For more information about the Get Ready to Succeed programme, or to become a financial donor, please visit kampaniata.org or contact Penka on mobile 088/ 933 58 85.