In the past quarter, Hope and homes for children – Bulgaria has started the implementation of the joint campaign with Elektrohold called ” Cosiness at home”.
Within this initiative we are supporting 45 families from Vidin, Vratsa, Montana, Pernik, Pleven, Sofia city and Sofia region.
What is the purpose of this campaign?
In Bulgaria, about 100 babies a year are being left in institutions. For most of the families this is not a choice, but a way to survive, as they have fallen into extreme poverty. Bulgaria is a country with a high rate of child poverty (33%) and the number of children abandoned by parents working abroad is also increasing. Although important progress has been made, the deinstitutionalisation reform is far from being over. The foster care system is underdeveloped and relies mainly on European funding, and this is one of the reasons why 200 more children are living in Homes for medical and social care.
Hope and homes for children – Bulgaria is one of the leading organizations working for the cause of children to live in a family environment, which is the best for them and our society. One of our activities is to help families in a timely manner in the periods of crisis and to prevent child abandonment. This model of ours helps more Bulgarian children to enjoy a happy childhood.
Elektrohold is a leading electricity group in Bulgaria with a 40% share in electricity distribution, supplying electricity to 3 million people across the country. The joint campaigns of Elektrohold Bulgaria and Hope and homes for children – Bulgaria are part of the company’s long-term corporate social responsibility strategy. The main priorities of the strategy are related to supporting local communities, education and development of young people, environmental protection and care, energy efficiency. Up to now, Elektrohold has given more than BGN 1.5 million to support more than 150 social initiatives in the above-mentioned areas, including the support of vocational education by creating the conditions and prospects for young people for a personal growth and professional development in Bulgaria.
Together with Elektrohold Bulgaria AD (formerly known as CEZ) we ran our first campaign during the pandemic of Covid 19 in 2020. That campaign activities were aiming at stabilizing family finances of vulnerable families, replacing old electrical appliances to reduce the long-term costs of these households and enable them to cope with their financial crisis. This year, we have been focusing on providing the basic minimum for survival and hopefully even fewer children will end up in institutions.
Our regional coordinators have started their targeted support to families in need in Sofia, Pleven, Vidin, Vratsa, and Pernik. So far, we have brought joy to and supported 14 families from these five regions. It is extremely inspiring for us to see smiles on the faces of these families and to give them back their sense of security.
We are by their side! We counsel and guide them thanks to the Cosiness at home campaign.
It is of the utmost importance to us to partner with the committed employees of Elektrohold Bulgaria AD for a fairer and shared future.
We continue to prevent the poverty from separating children from parents and to advocate for these families, and to be their voice to those in power.
