The initiative is part of the project "WEGO3 - From individual IPVs empowerment to community activation” in which the Center for Sustainable Communities Development (CSCD) Sofia and Association “Centre Dinamika” Ruse participate.
Under the expert guidance of Diana Georgieva, an expert at the CSCD 7 ladies plan a series of meetings with lawyers and accountants to register their NGO. The idea is to use it to create a social enterprise where they can offer hourly childcare.
Some of these women have experienced domestic violence from an intimate partner (clients or employees of the “Centre Dinamika” Association and social entrepreneurship is part of their path to empowerment and emancipation. The other participants in the project are students at the University of Ruse, in the Social Activities department and according to their supervisor - Diana Georgieva, they are extremely motivated and ambitious to achieve success.
All of them have already undergone training in paramedical assistance conducted by the Bulgarian Red Cross - Ruse and are currently being trained in social entrepreneurship. In September, a professional course for babysitters and educators will be organized at the Center for Professional Support at Confederation of the Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB).
The idea of creating a social enterprise was born after conducting policy laboratories in three cities of Bulgaria (Plovdiv, Targovishte and Ruse), as part of the WEGO3 project. During them, experts and representatives of stakeholders on the topic of economic empowerment of women survivors of domestic violence were to unite around a victim support measure to be tested at the regional level for 9 months.
The active girls, who today are boldly developing their project, conducted a survey on social networks, from which it became clear that there is a wide interest for hourly babysitting services in the Ruse region, but despite this, the supply is extremely low. Thus, they aim to meet the needs of hundreds of citizens while at the same time ensuring financial independence both for themselves and for other women who have suffered from domestic violence.
For more information about the topic, visit the website of Center for Sustainable Communities Development - https://cscd-bg.org/en/projects/proekt-wego-3 or Center Dinamika Associaiton’s website - https://dinamika-ruse.bg/, as well as the official website of the WEGO3 project - https://www.wegoproject.eu/