Community Development
By introducing sustainable community projects we are giving people the tools they need to turn their lives around.
Our community work focuses on improving the lives of Bulgaria's Roma people.
Roma (gypsy) families are largely excluded from Bulgarian society. Unable to trade, such families live in shanty-town style communities where survival is a struggle. This poverty leads to crime, prostitution, drug and alcohol abuse, creating a dysfunctional and dangerous environment. Parents often find it difficult to care for their children resulting in abandonment to state care.
This cycle of poverty will continue to exist until Roma people are given the tools they need to create a better life.
NEW! Roma Community Health Programme:
Healthcare is too expensive for the majority of Bulgaria's Roma people and as a result many suffer from poor health and diseases that would be easily cured or prevented with better access to medical support. The Trussell Trust is working with a Roma NGO to provide free healthcare and family planning advice to Stara Zagora Roma Community. This new programme helps to prevent abandonment of children by giving mothers better access to healthcare for themselves and their children.
Botevgrad Roof Repair Project:
Helping Roma people to have a happier, healthier Christmas
In September 2008 a Trussell Trust team, including a UK builder volunteer, worked in partnership with the men of Botevgrad Roma Community to fix their leaking roofs before winter set in. Temperatures in Bulgaria can drop as low as -20 degrees in winter and flooding in such weather can cause serious health problems as well as discomfort for residents. Botevgrad Roma community live in dire conditions and have little access to the education and employment that would enable them to generate the income they need to fix this problem. The dwellings, that are home to 170+ people, are in a state of almost total disrepair. The health of old and young alike has suffered as a result and the local authorities have so far refused to help. Working together with the residents of this community our team ensured that at least nine families had dry accommodation before winter.