Overview

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STEP Bulgaria is a new initiative of the Harvard Bulgarian Club that focuses on developing the human capital of Bulgarian youth living in specialized state social institutions. STEP Bulgaria's mission is based on the belief that young people in Bulgaria have the most urgent need and would benefit the most from an intensive educational program that uses interactive approaches in order to: improve their English language fluency, teach them computer literacy and basic life skills, and stimulate them to explore new fields of interest.  Thus, STEP Bulgaria should serve as a bridge between volunteers from Bulgaria and from abroad and local teenagers without parental care in order to provide the latter with practical skills and useful information related to their professional and academic life after graduating from high-school. This step should allow volunteers and students to establish lasting bonds between each other.


The objectives of the STEP Bulgaria, towards which all volunteers and students should work, are:
1.    teach and learn basic English skills

2.    teach and learn basic computer skills

3.    teach and learn basic life skills


The participants in STEP Bulgaria this year include: more than 20 volunteers from Harvard University, Sofia University, the American University in Bulgaria, the American College of Sofia, the English Language High-School in Sofia; and 38 students (teenagers without parental care) from five orphanages in Bulgaria (14 from “Asen Zlatarov” in Sofia, 8 from “Olga Skobeleva” in Plovdiv, 6 from “Lyuba Teneva” in Berkovitsa, 8 from “Hristo Raykov” in Gabrovo, and 2 from “Kostantsa Liapcheva” in Dolna Banya). 

   The STEP Bulgaria summer volunteer educational program consists of four different periods based on the location where program activities take place:

  • from June 25 to June 29, volunteers visit all orphanages and get to know the students and their background;
  • from July 2 to July 15, STEP Bulgaria classes take place in the National Center for Professional Development in Manastriski Livadi;
  • from July 16 to July 27, two groups of students and volunteers are in Sofia and the other two groups wil be in Plovdiv (generously hosted by the local orphanages);
  • during the last week – July 29-August 3, everyone is in Sofia to prepare for the closing night and exchange thoughts about the steps they have made thanks to their STEP Bulgaria experiences