Establish a center for professional realization for children with special educational needs
Professional realization and adaptation of young people with special educational needs is still a great challenge to society, especially when those children live in smaller cities and towns. 500 children in the region of Ruse, some with light but others with severe disorders and disabilities managed to graduate and acquire a profession but none of them has been actually hired anywhere.
Description
In the recent years, high schools within the Ruse region have opened their classrooms and invested efforts in children with special educational needs thus helping them acquire a profession and enable them to easily integrate afterward in the business world. 500 children in the region of Ruse, some with light but others with severe disorders and disabilities managed to graduate and acquire a profession but none of them has been actually hired anywhere. Despite the efforts of teachers and parents alike professional realization and adaptation of young people with special educational needs is still a great challenge to society, especially when those children live in smaller cities and towns. Without government assistance and without any other means of income those children are left again at their parents’ care who have already sacrificed their work (and main source of income) during their children’ educational process. The lack of perspective for those children and their parents leave them with no hope and in social isolation and exclusion.
Target
1. Ruse region, North-east of Bulgaria
2. Children with special educational needs graduated vocational education in the recent years. There is no such center providing care, activities, job offers or any other activities for people with such disabilities and disorders in the region of Ruse.
3. Nov Start has recently started its business for food and nutrition supply and provision of educational services with a dedicated place for classes, meetings and regular consultations with specialists in these fields. The mission of the organization is to inform, support and direct people with different diseases who do not have access to such professional help. Part of the organizations’ activity is also visiting groups and people in need and help match needs with the potential provision of care and or support.
such charity action the owner visited a class of children with special educational needs in one of the local schools and was acquainted with the unfortunate situation
Competencies
1. The owner has gone through a severe health issue for a long period of time which made her a person with a disability, hence she experienced first-hand what it means to be left without any perspective. This made her start a business initiative where people with disabilities, health issues, and different disorders can meet, receive support, communicate, connect with other people. A special place is dedicated to classes, meetings, and discussions organized on a regular basis with external specialists on a certain health topic. 2. The owner has no specific experience in work with children with special educational needs.
3. The owner, a person with a disability herself, has established and developed a great network of contacts with other people with different disabilities and disorders, organizations for providing help and support to people with disabilities among which are teachers working with children with special educational needs with more than 20 years of experience in this field.
Innovation
1. Even though there are specific measures and stimulus of the government to encourage inclusion and employment of people with disabilities, such initiatives are sporadic and very rare, especially in the less economically developed regions (such as the Ruse region). Therefore, an establishment of a social enterprise by and for people with disabilities would help them overcome the social isolation and exclusion.
2. One of the solutions is to invest in the renovation of a building for the physical placement of the center, equipment of the center’s different rooms where people with disabilities can work as employees depending on their professional qualification obtained, development of a website of the center, establishing contacts with local businesses, etc.
Commitment
1. Since the challenge owner is a newly established organization recently opened and started their business initiative, all resources are now directed to fulfillment of organization’s mission and vision. Teachers and parents of children with special educational needs and children with disabilities are also dedicated to finding a solution to this challenge.
2. The Challenge owner is dedicated to work in collaboration with the SP and made all efforts to look for other funds available for providing a more completed and sustainable solution.
Compliance
Yes, it is compliant.