We shared our good practices in the care for unprivileged children and youths

The Cedar Foundation hosted a 12-member delegation from Armenia, which included the country’s First Deputy Secretary of Labor and Social Policy, experts from the state and local governments, representatives from the NGO sector and UNICEF. The aim of this visit was for the guests to learn about effective social services, good practices and the learned lessons in Bulgaria. This experience can then be transferred and applied to the initiated deinstitutionalization reform in Armenia.

Our Armenian colleagues had the opportunity to spend a day at Cedar’s Family-type Home and the Social Rehabilitation and Integration Centre in Kyustendil. They took a close look at the organization models, which the Foundation applies, the various approaches in our direct work with the children and youths, the roles and responsibilities of the team and the successes and challenges, which are part of our daily work.

During the visit, the delegation was impressed by the individual approach to each child or youth, which Cedar’s team applies through the methodology of Planning with a Focus on the Individual, as well as by the improvements in the development of the children and youths. Our guests said that they would be happy to adopt what they learned here and adapt it to the situation in their home country. They received hand-made gifts from some of the youths, and they left saying that this was a very useful, emotional and inspiring visit.

Armenia’s recently begun reform aims to transform the specialized institutions into alternative services within the community and to expand the opportunities for providing care in a family environment. In addition to their meeting with The Cedar Foundation, during the visit, organized by UNICEF Bulgaria, the Armenian delegation was introduced to other successes and challenges of the process, as well as to the mechanisms of abandonment prevention.