Annual financial report for 2022

February 9, 2024

Charity Registration in Bulgaria: 176220765

ACTIVITY REPORT

In 2022, Hope and homes for children – Bulgaria branch continued to work, following our main mission, vision and goals – supporting the government in the implementation of the reform of the deinstitutionalization of child care and creating conditions for children and families at risk support. The year was marked by serious challenges – after the COVID-19 pandemic there were severe economic, social and psychological consequences – high unemployment, and poverty, limiting the opportunities for children and families and increasing the vulnerability of risk groups.

In 2022 Hope and Homes for Children implemented activities in four main areas.

Direct work with children and families

The organization has a strong practical experience in improving the conditions for raising children in their biological families, as well as in direct support of children and families. A key part of the work of Hope and homes for children – Bulgaria is the creation of family resilience to ensure family stability after the organisation has withdrawn its direct support. In this regard, direct work with all stakeholders and permanent contact with the target groups are of great importance, which is why the organization relies heavily on the developed Deinstitutionalization Coordination Mechanisms. They help to support and assist the process of and the care reform for children aged 0 to 3 years old. The Coordination Mechanisms function as an effective tool for inter-institutional interaction with all stakeholders in order to resolve specific cases of children and their families.

Within 2022, on the initiative of the organization, the first session of the Deinstitutionalization Coordination Mechanisms (DDICM) was held in Burgas, as well as continuous counseling of the members of the DDICM.

Our organization has considerable experience in working with children, their families and communities, central and local authorities. This experience helps in creating, improving and disseminating the sustainable models of family care and such close to the family one. Hope and homes for children – Bulgaria has developed a model for closing institutions and replacing them with a specific set of preventive and alternative services, which is recognized by UNICEF and the World Health Organization as best practice in this area.

Within the implementation of the project “Ending the elimination of institutions for children under the age of 3 in Bulgaria: a flagship project to stimulate regional and global reform” Hope and homes for children actively supported and contributed to the prevention of abandonment of 390 children in the regions of Pleven, Sofia, Sofia region, Burgas, Varna, Vidin, Vratsa, Veliko Tarnovo, Kardzhali, Stara Zagora, Sliven, Haskovo and Yambol in 2022. The organization is also actively working to reintegrate 12 children from institutions in the regions where we apply our models of work. Support was also provided to 72 children who were placed in foster families from institutions and maternity hospitals and for whom we managed to find the best alternative – living in a family environment.

During the year, due to the war in Ukraine, our organization supported 23 families with children from 0 to 3 years old in the districts of Pleven, Veliko Tarnovo, Yambol and Vidin. Mainly we provided the families with necessary products and supplies, but also we supported them emotionally due to the trauma they were going through. Our regional coordinators from the above-mentioned cities assisted these families in contacting specific institutions, driving the procedures for refugee status and other necessary administrative activities.

Within the process of closure of the specialized institutions – Homes for medical and social care for children (HMSCCs), our organization took the initiative and received the support and together with the Agency for social assistance (ASA) and the national teams in places a reassessment of 197 children placed in the last remaining 4 HMSCCs in Stara Zagora, Kardzhali, Pleven and Varna was carried out. After the completion of the reassessment, Hope and homes for children – Bulgaria elaborated a report containing conclusions and recommendations which was sent to the ASA, Ministry of Health (MoH) and State agency for child protection (SACP).

Within 2022, the team of Hope and homes for children – Bulgaria succeeded in supporting the taking-out of 6 children from Family type placement centers for children and youths with disabilities (FTPCCYD) and providing them with a better environment – a return to their biological family and placement in a foster family.

During the same year, Hope and homes for children – Bulgaria also implemented fundraising events from corporate and private donors. We ran a campaign “Cosy at Home” together with Elektrohold Bulgaria to support 45 families in the regions of Montana, Pernik, Sofia city, Sofia region, Pleven, Vratsa and Vidin. We prepared texts and videos showing the work of our organization for a campaign on the website of Podkrepi.bg.

Increased the capacity of the child protection system

One of the key ways in which Hope and homes for children – Bulgaria is changing attitudes and developing the scope of its work is through the provision of expert and specialized support and training for all relevant institutions at the district level on topics related to deinstitutionalization, child care, family support, foster care, multidisciplinary approach and inter-institutional interaction.

The direct work with children and families and the development of various cross-sector partnerships proved again how effective our models of work are – the model of Active Family Support and the District DI Coordination Mechanism, recognized as good practices by UNICEF – Geneva and the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy.

We supported the Child Protection Department with 258 consultations on cases of children and families at risk of abandonment and working on reintegration (return to the biological or foster family from institutions). During the year we held 16 coordination meetings with directors of Social Assistance Directorates, Heads of Child Protection Departments, social service providers, local partners.

We also organized 3 round tables in Ruse, Vratsa and Sofia region, the aim of which was to discuss the best practices in closing the HMSCCs in these regions and support for children and families. There were 68 participants in these round tables from Child Protection Department at the Social Assistance Directorate regional administration, municipalities and social service providers.

This year our organization continued to promote and disseminate our work on our website, on our Facebook page, and other social media channels. During the year, we had 29 news publications on the Bulgarian website, and 90 posts on our Facebook page.

Advocacy work

Hope and homes for children – Bulgaria is a member of the Childhood 2025 Coalition – an informal structure that works actively for the implementation of the deinstitutionalization reform and the support of children and families in Bulgaria through activities on prevention, reintegration, provision of social services, advocacy, capacity building and increasing, etc. In 2022, the Coalition continued to actively implement various initiatives and meetings, to take part in thematic forums and events, as well as to develop texts, statements and official letters related to the development of the process of deinstitutionalization.

During the reporting period, the Childhood 2025 Coalition held 12 meetings and its representatives participated in 5 meetings at the political level, including those with the Minister of Labour and Social Policy, the Executive Director of the Agency for Social Assistance, the Deputy Minister of Health and others, where important issues were discussed such as the vision for the continuation of the reform up to 2025, the development of innovative services, the improvement of the quality of social services, the Social Services Act and the development of secondary legislation to it, the support of vulnerable groups, the taking out of children of the Homes for medical and social care for children and the protection of their best interest.

Hope and homes for children – Bulgaria has successfully developed its children’s participation and advocacy programme. 8 interactive sessions were held during 2022. The topics that were put up for consideration focused on children’s rights, children’s participation and advocacy for disadvantaged children, as well as active learning through action and group work. During the year, the children’s participation programme also received an award from the MLSP in the Social Innovation category specifically for the direct advocacy work of the children and youths participating in the programme.

Being a branch of the UK charity Hope and homes for children, the Bulgarian organisation participates in a number of forums at the European and international level, as well as in the development of significant EU policy documents on children’s rights and protection.

Partnerships for the goals

Hope and Homes for Children – Bulgaria branch worked in 13 out of 28 districts in Bulgaria during 2022. With only four institutions of the old type left to close, HHC Bulgaria serves as the catalyst for the global elimination of institutional care. We bring proof that orphanages are an unacceptable way of raising children and we strive to build worldwide consensus on it.

Local and international businesses have supported our work in Bulgaria over the year. The largest donors are from Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Denmark: Medicor Foundation, UBS Optimus Foundation, the VELUX Foundations. Among our Bulgarian donors we can proudly feature Electrohold Bulgaria EAD, BORIKA Bank Service AD, and JUSK Bul EOOD.

Our campaign COZYNESS AT HOME with Electrohold Bulgaria EAD was nominated at the 20 Jubilee Awards for Investment in Society of the Bulgarian Forum of Business Leaders Forum.

Our Deinstitutionalization Coordination Mechanism was nominated as Social Innovation by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy.

We have one crowdfunding campaign open at Podkrepi.bg and one closed successfully at Bithope.org.

Since its establishment in Bulgaria in 2011, Hope and Homes for Children works tirelessly for improvement in the following seven out of the seventeen United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals 2030:

HHC Bulgaria areas of intervention focus on