"Our rights and responsibilities" - program for empowerment of vulnerable groups

The Roma with low social and education status face serious challenges related to exercising their rights. These are families that live below the poverty line. They live in poor conditions and have limited access to public education, health and social services. The rights of the segregated Roma are discussed at many levels but they are excluded at the same time from such training and the main focus remains on meeting their basic needs. The project aims at improving the skills of the members of marginalized Roma communities in Sofia to exercise their rights. We plan to achieve our goal by developing and appraising an innovative programme titled Our Rights and Skills. The programme will be implemented in 2 stages to address the two main issues: Stage 1: organization of courses to raise literacy, which are practically oriented to working with documents and forms needed to exercise specific rights. Stage 2: organization of a training called Our Rights and Skills with modules on Human Rights and Child’s Rights and use of the knowledge acquired before public institutions and services. The project will help increase the number of vulnerable persons covered by measures for empowerment and boosting the number of organizations applying innovative methods and approaches for the needs of vulnerable groups. The programme will improve the Roma’s skills to exercise their rights, respect their children’s rights and act to help their children enjoy their rights. The empowerment of these groups is a step towards helping them to be active citizens, advocate for themselves and their community and thus help strengthen the civil society.  Our Rights and Skills Programme will become a component of the work of Concordia Bulgaria with Roma communities and will be accessible to other organizations as well.