IN a small, tired municipal building in the Gotse Delchev district of Sofia, surrounded by block apartment buildings, a few women are working patiently to change the nature of economic development and social support in Bulgaria. They would not describe their endeavours this way: to them, they are simply doing what they can to help socially disadvantaged people in Bulgaria. They work from their hearts. They did not set out to affect economic change or become part of a concept of generating income that questions more than the profit motive. But they are an impressive example of what is possible for Bulgaria.
Bulgaria's economic development efforts can be met through many means: multinationals investing in Bulgaria, Bulgarian-owned businesses producing for export, strengthening the tourism sector to attract foreign capital, and growth in the small-to-medium size enterprise sector to create jobs and build sustainability. All of these efforts will serve to raise the standard of living in Bulgaria. But raising incomes is only one way to raise the standard of living. Adequate social support systems also serve to better people's lives. An innovative business model, social enterprise, creates social benefits while creating jobs and earning income. Rozhdestvo Hristovo (RH), a social day centre, provides emotional support for single mothers while also employing them and generating income through the sales of handicrafts to fund the activities of the centre.
I became familiar with RH in late 2004 when I began training the centre's staff members on Microsoft Excel as part of a DFID (the British government's Department for International Development) grant managed by the Traditzia Foundation in Sofia. Traditzia is a gallery that exhibits the works of socially disadvantaged artisans in exchange for donations, and the products of RH are some of their most popular items. The goal of the grant was to build the capacity of RH from a social day centre into a market-oriented handicrafts enterprise. The grant funding ended in January and because of the success of the first project, the Swiss Embassy in Bulgaria has agreed to fund a second, similar project for one year.
Seven years ago, Lucy Balikova could never have anticipated how her life would change, and how she could become a pioneer in social enterprise in Bulgaria. She was neither a social worker nor a businesswoman, merely volunteering at Caritas International (the Vatican City-based Catholic Charity) in Sofia. She has a university degree in mathematics and she was using her technical skills working full-time in medical information technology at a polyclinic. In 1999, the Vatican publicised a new funding programme, Pope John Paul II's "100 Projects of the Holy Father", that would accept proposals from dioceses in developing countries. Balikova, a dedicated volunteer, wrote two proposals for projects in Bulgaria. Balikova's daughter Irina translated the proposals into French and they faxed them to the Vatican within a day. Balikova did it to assist Caritas, not to create a new life for herself. But she did get a new life, and has helped to create new lives for many Bulgarian women.
When Caritas received the funding, Balikova said, "the Bishop said to me, `You wrote the proposal, so you must do the project.'" Balikova was afraid to quit her job and take on something so unknown. She was afraid to manage a project, much less manage people. "I had never been a boss," she said. The project came together quickly, and Balikova had a sense that it was "meant to be." They received a building from the municipality (a former kindergarten) and Balikova hired her old friend Vanya Sigridova to help with the effort.
Sigridova, too, was soon surprised with the turn her life would take. A trained violinist who had performed in orchestras and the wife of a staffer in Bulgarian Embassies abroad, Sigridova lived in the United Kingdom, Germany and Nigeria with her family. When Balikova approached Sigridova, she says "I was attracted to the project initially because I thought, `We can make nice things with our hands, like dolls.' I wanted to do something nice for these poor, nice, helpless, gentle single mothers."
The reality, Sigridova says, was vastly different. It is, both Sigridova and Balikova say in unison, "rough." The reason that these women are unemployed and are raising children alone is not because they are helpless and gentle, but because they suffer from psychological problems. Balikova says that the women "blame society, but that is not the problem." Sigridova says that "all people want to blame society for their problems, but most people have the inner strength to manage their problems. These women do not have that capability." The centre does not have the ability to make overarching changes to society, but it can help the women understand what problems are inside themselves, and what they have the power to change.
Sigridova and Balikova are not trained social workers, so they were initially overwhelmed. They realised the women had low self-esteem, low self-confidence, a negative world view, and bad attitudes. Balikova's initial idea, to give the women something tangible to do, to give them work, was not enough. In tandem with the work projects, she says, they had to build the women back up to a place where they could begin to contribute to the world.
Balikova and Sigridova have developed a method over the years that has succeeded, but they had to learn from their mistakes. They attribute their success to the group of seven women who staff the centre and approache all challenges as a team. Though each staff member has specific work responsibilities, whether that is ceramics or cooking, they all have the social goal of the centre in mind and allow that to shape their work.
The team approaches the women like this: they challenge them to make something beautiful with their hands, in order to change their negative world view, and they stress the importance of working together and taking personal responsibility for their actions. Balikova emphasises the importance of feeling empowered and feeling connected to the world. The feeling of being involved in the creation of something good and creative is powerful. The women realised that people liked to buy the things they made, and this made them feel pride for the first time in their lives. This, says Balikova, is far more helpful than sitting at a table talking about your problems all day.
The work of the centre first started with 10 sewing machines donated by nuns in Sofia. They sewed bed sheets, a very simple endeavour, but they received publicity for sending those sheets to refugee camps during the war in Kosovo. They made approximately 1000 sheets in two months.
They then progressed, organically, to making other products to sell. Their first ceramics teacher came to them fortuitously, through his wife, who had learned of the centre from her women's club. The funds for the kiln came from the Bosch Foundation in 1999. They followed ceramics with handmade plush animal toys and dolls dressed in traditional Bulgarian costumes.
Over the years RH has helped hundreds of women with assistance like food and clothing. They have registered at least 200 women who have participated in the centre's activities during the past seven years.
Today, on average, 10-15 women work at the centre, making dolls and ceramics. Their principal donor is Patenschaft, of Switzerland. Caritas helps them to manage the centre but does not provide funding. The funds from the Vatican only lasted for the first year, and after that, the centre has had to raise money itself. They receive no money from the Bulgarian government, though they do receive a discount on the rent they pay to the municipality. All operating expenses are funded through private donations, but the social enterprise will be able to pay for part of their food expenses this year.
RH sells products in 10 shops in Sofia; their largest retailer is Traditzia. They sell about 200 pieces per month, in all the shops. Christmas sales are the high point of their selling season. Learning to track sales, manage inventory, re-design products to satisfy the needs of the market, and increase distribution channels have been a challenge for Sigridova and Balikova. Often, they say, they wonder if they "can do it," run a business and also accomplish their social goals, especially because at times those two goals can be contradictory.
While social enterprise has the potential to revolutionise how businesses are conceived and executed, the concept still has growing pains. For RH, the growing pains are worth it, and the work continues at the centre. Clearly, donors recognise the potential of not only the overall concept, but also of the women of RH. From my work with them, I know they will continue to encounter challenges, but I also know that their passion for the women they help will allow them to overcome those challenges.

Maury Wray Bridges is an MBA Enterprise Corps volunteer in Sofia, sponsored by USAID.