10 Achievements that Made Us Happy and Satisfied in 2023
Dear friends,
We are excited to share with you the 10 biggest achievements of Karin Dom for the past year. There are certainly more reasons for joy and satisfaction, but check out these 10 that we decided to share with you.
Thank you for walking another year together, fulfilling and building, setting new goals and walking side by side boldly forward!
1. We supported 443 children with special needs and their families from Varna and the country. We opened 5 new therapy groups for the children, included their brothers and sisters in art therapy sessions, and parents – in groups for psychological support and mutual help. We published our first 2 children’s books and a Parent’s Guide – all with a focus on inclusive education and parenting support.
2. We gave a successful start to adapted swimming and water therapy for children with special needs – we included 140 children and we are happy that three of them had a worthy and exciting performance at an adapted swimming tournament in Sofia and won medals. We are happy that most of the children overcame their fear of water, learned to control their breathing while swimming. The aquatic environment helped them to move freely, which for some children is impossible on land, and in the water they can even walk independently without help.
3. We created the Children’s Fund – which already supports 12 children with a complex therapeutic program and their parents, and for 20 children with occupational therapy sessions. The Children’s Fund is possible thanks to the inclusion of our friends, partners, as well as the Social Enterprise – the amount collected is worth BGN 57,386.
4. Experts from Medical University – Varna conducted a survey among parents to evaluate our services. The results showed high satisfaction and progress of the children in areas of development, including socialization and adaptation in nursery and kindergarten.
5. Karin Dom Training Center held 99 training events with 1309 participants from 58 organizations. Our Vocational Training Center received a well-deserved award for its contribution to the provision of quality vocational training in support of lifelong learning in Bulgaria. We have developed successful partnerships with universities, and the result is 158 students who got to know our activities on the spot.
6. We completed the 8-week Bobat course organized by us for the first time in Bulgaria for children with cerebral palsy and similar neurological conditions for 23 specialists, 8 of them from Karin Dom. We also conducted an internationally certified training on the PECS Picture Communication Development System with 36 participants.
7. 236 volunteers from kindergartens and schools in Bulgaria and abroad, company employees, citizens joined our volunteer initiatives.
8. We registered our social enterprise and provided employment for parents.
9. Active advocacy activity – we participated in working groups for ministries and state agencies for planning and coordinating policies for early childhood development; for the development of the National Strategy for Children 2030 and for a new strategy for the development of civil society.
10. Annual “Ivan Stanchov” awards. We presented awards to responsible businesses, organizations and individuals with contributions to policies for children and inclusive education.
Thank you for being together with us in 2023!
We hug you tightly and look forward to an even more successful 2024 year, to continue the change for children in Bulgaria together!
