Aproximately 2000 blind and partially sighted people aged under sixty live in Sofia region of Bulgaria. About 20% of them are employed. The rest majority of 80% of these people are jobless.
The main focus of our idea is how to bring this people back to the labor market. How to make them active citizens with clear goals in their life.

Sofia, Bulgaria

The main focus of our idea is how to bring this people back to the labor market. How to make them active citizens with clear goals in their life. Inside the mentioned above group of blind and partially sighted people there are two main categories – people with no qualification and qualified people who don’t believe in their ability to be employed. The representatives of the first category need consultations for proper vocational training and all other measures to make them active on the labor market. People from the second category must be involved in different initiatives with main objective to raise their self-confidence.

The target group are blind and partially sighted people aged under sixty:
- Actively looking for the job]
- Lost hope that they can find a job]
- Qualified]
- With no qualification.

First of all visually impaired people from both categories have to be very well informed. That’s why we intend to publish monthly newsletter in accessible formats for the blind – Braille and electronic version. The main topics in the booklet will be information about services connected with professional orientation and training. There will be also articles about successfully employed visually impaired people in different sectors of the labor market. The readers of the newsletter will find information how to look for a job. The specialists from job-centers will advise people how to use their services – registration trainee programs and employment opportunities. Special section in the booklet will be designated for answering readers’ questions. This work will be done by specialist with the necessary competence. The Braille copies of the newsletter will be distributed free of charhe and electronic version will be accessible online including with newly created application of the mobile phone.

We intend to organize periodically online meetings or if the epidemic situation allows, face to face meetings on which will be invited visually impaired people who are looking for a job, who have found a job, employment specialists and employers. On these meetings the participants will be able to discuss many problems and exchange experience related to the employment matters.

We will help many blind people in Sofia to find work.
Something more – the people from the other regions of the country, where the situation with employment is even worse, being well informed about our activities will use locally the gained experience to solve this problem.

In order for blind people to be active citizens, they must have access to the labor market and a real chance to realize themselves professionally.
Above all, they must regain faith in their own abilities and receive support for their realization. Overcoming extreme poverty is also a necessary condition for their social inclusion.

The team of the National Chitalishte for the Blind "Louis Braille 1928" has extremely extensive experience in working with blind people and has always assisted and supported their efforts to obtain better qualifications, to have access to the necessary professional literature and to actively look for work.

publish monthly newsletter - 12000 EUR
online or face to face meetings - 3000 EUR
internet forum - 2000 EUR

We are interested in any information on how other organizations deal with similar problems.