Previous Projects

Current Projects

Building together a better tomorrow
Duration: January 2007 – December 2009
Location: Sofia, Bulgaria
Source: OAK Foundation
Aims and activities of the project:
This project was developed as a response to the need of mobilization and development of the available community resources on the territory of the districts of Oborishte, Poduyane and Kremikovtsi in Sofia. The aims of the project are:

• to create conditions for the establishment of a functioning network of all professionals involved in child care; and
• to develop the capacity of a specialized service in support to children survivors of violence

The planned activities are in four areas:

• build up the capacity of professionals and organizations for recognition of children survivors of violence (the target group is: school psychologists, psychologists, nurses in schools and kindergartens, patrol police, regional police inspectors)
• build up the capacity of parents’ trustee and general practitioners for prevention of violence against children and exploitation
• build up the capacity of the staff of the Child Protection Departments and Child Delinquency Offices in Oborishte Municipality for advocacy to children survivors of violence
• Establish and develop a comprehensive care unit for children and adolescents survivors of violence at AAF, which will provide the adequate responding to children’s emotional, psychological and other immediate needs

The activities of the project include 18 trainings for professionals, 10 workshops, 200 work meetings, organization of an information campaign, printing of prevention materials and development of 14 programs for children, adolescents and parents at the Rehabilitation Centre of Animus.
As a result of the multidisciplinary work among the different services on the territory of Oborishte Municipality, a protocol will be created containing good practices and procedures for work with children survivors of violence.

Helping children and parents find, build and keep the family they need
Duration: April 2007 – August 2008
Location: Sofia, Bulgaria
Source: Phare Programme of the European Union through the Bulgarian Ministry of Labor and Social Policy
Aims and activities of the project:
Within the level of direct work AAF is planning to develop and establish a comprehensive care program for prevention of the abandonment of children and their reintegration and recovery. This program will improve and enrich the system of social services for children through provision of 12 adequate complementary services of psychological and psychosocial help for children and parents. It will integrate and develop the good practices of Animus Association in support to children survivors of violence. Since many children who live in institutions suffer traumatic experiences the process of reintegration in foster family, adopters’ family or return to their biological parents, cannot be successful without specialized help for their recovery from traumatic experiences, strengthening of their internal resources and their resilience to be able to make the best in adapting, accepting and trusting their new parents. An important part of the program is that we offer simultaneously assistance for the parents with whom the children will live. These parents will be helped to understand better the dynamics of their relationships with their children and in this way support and develop their skills to build up and keep their new family. We need to use, transfer and integrate our professional experience in working with abused children, work with couples and parents so far, as well as our practice to work in close partnership with social workers from CPDs on cases of abused children into the new program for cases of abandonment of children or children at risk of abandonment.
The second group of activities focuses on cooperation between key professionals who are involved in the process of child care: CPDs, Child delinquency departments and the team of Animus Association. Multidisciplinary approach here is the most important in achieving best results. Working together on all cases and through different stages and developments of the case from the very beginning – from assessment to follow-up and monitoring activities – taking up clear roles and responsibilities, but also sharing the same professional language and principles of work is what we want to achieve through this project.
Work in the community will be the third level of activities. It can change the prejudice and negative attitudes towards adoption and foster parenting as well as resistances to share and seek professional help outside the family system for very personal and delicate issues like not being able to conceive or failure in parenting, etc. It gives information for real possibilities and encourages the children’s parents to use on time the help they need.
The estimated results of the proposed project can be described as:
1. Efficient comprehensive care program offering 12 different services, complementing the existing social system, for prevention of the abandonment of children, their reintegration and recovery.
2. Good and efficient coordination with the Child Protection Departments and the Child Delinquency Departments of Police.
3. Positive attitudes towards adoption and foster parenting, broad accessibility to specialized programs and services for children and parents and culture for seeking help for children and family problems on time.
All activities in the project aim to help children (0-18) in institutions, and deviant adolescents (12-18), parents, foster parents and adopters. However, other beneficiaries of the project will include the child care system, professionals from Child protection departments, Child Delinquency Departments and the broader community in Sofia, Sofia region, north-west and south-west Bulgaria. We list these regions for the reasons that we are located in Sofia and that we have requests from north-west and south-west Bulgaria to accept cases for consultations. But it is important to say that there will not be any restrictions in accepting cases from other Bulgarian territories.

Danish Programme against Human Trafficking in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe
Duration: January 2007 – January 2008
Location: Sofia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Rumania
Source: Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Aims and activities:
Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova and Romania are now facing the challenge of enforcing effectively their recently introduced anti-trafficking legislations and national action plans. In this process of transferring the responsibility from external actors to the national welfare system, there is a need of strengthening the capacity of the already established and functioning local networks of service providers through a process ensuring that their experience will be preserved, adapted to the new environment and upgraded in a way resulting in an increased efficiency of the overall reintegration support to survivors of trafficking. The present project focuses on clinical aspects of the reintegration work and aims at promoting among service providers a common language and shared principles and methods, uniform standards and procedures through the installation of new practices, by systematising and consolidating knowledge and experience for the purposes of transferability in both the direct work and in the communication with other actors, and by using and replicating the existing best practices while addressing existing capacity and training needs. It will do so by delivering a training module based on a combination of academic and practical techniques that will take the form of 4 regular clinical reading seminars combined with facilitated discussions and observation of practices at the “Animus” Rehabilitation Centre. They will be dedicated to the following topics:

• Understanding trauma
• Crisis intervention and work with difficult clients
• Standards and procedures around which a) work with survivors of trafficking and b) professional support and care for the practitioners is organized
• Development of skills for training and supervising service providers

By opening a space for mutual exchange regarding best psychosocial practices between main service providers and by providing them with the necessary equipment to transfer their knowledge and skills, the programme will contribute to DANATIP’s immediate objective 1: National counter trafficking strategies and mechanisms are strengthened. However, the main contribution will be to objectives 2, 3 and 4: Institutional and technical capacities of the actors are improved; the delivery of protection/assistance services is reinforced and international & regional co-operation on responses to trafficking is strengthened. It does so by exchanging experience and unifying standards while enhancing knowledge and skills in the following areas: recognising vulnerable clients and addressing their specific needs, more humane understanding of the victims through routinisation of case formulation, case management, creating safe and protected environment, enhancing setting (space, time framework and procedures), crisis intervention, aspects of individual psychotherapy, supervision and supervision skills, prevention of burn-out and training of trainers: interactive and facilitation techniques with a focus on understanding. Indirectly, by preparing resource people in the three countries and providing them with the necessary equipment to support other service providers, the training will address the fourth output as well.

Comprehensive approach for prevention of trafficking in human beings among adolescents and young people

Duration: 1 July 2006 – 30 June 2007
Location: Sofia, Bulgaria
Source: Geneva Global Inc.
Aims and activities of the project:
Though Bulgaria has made progress enforcing new laws against trafficking, few if any services exist to support victims and protect the vulnerable. Animus’ multiple programs help victims escape and rebuild their lives, while teaching those at risk to avoid the trap of trafficking. Hundreds of people will receive prevention education, shelter, psychotherapy, help for finding employment and other needed support.

• 30 student representatives from 15 high schools being trained to prepare anti-trafficking presentations, as indicated by Animus records of training attendance and presentations given, as well as surveys of students before and after training
• 1,000 high school students learning to recognize the dangers of human trafficking through presentations given by peers, as indicated by attendance records and surveys of 100 students before and after presentations
• 300 victims of sexual abuse and domestic violence receiving counseling and psychotherapy, with 150 taking steps to improve their lives, as indicated by an Animus report and surveys of 30 clients before and after therapy
• 200 people receiving information helping them avoid or escape trafficking, as indicated by an Animus report on help-line call outcomes such as callers investigating offers of jobs abroad; referrals to services such as shelters, law enforcement or prevention education; or victim rescues
• 200 women gaining skills for finding employment and education through Animus’ empowerment program, with at least 40 finding jobs, as indicated by an Animus tally of program participants and those finding jobs, as well as surveys of 20 participants before and after training
• 50 trafficking victims being supported with services such as shelter, crisis intervention, humanitarian aid or help reintegrating into society, as indicated by an Animus report
• 30 volunteers being trained to handle help-line calls, as indicated by Animus’ tally of training attendees, surveys before and after training and a report on the number of calls received and actions taken in response
• 20 members of news media being educated on trafficking issues, resulting in a 50 percent increase in the number of related articles in local media, as indicated by tallies of trafficking articles produced in the six months before and after training, a list from Animus of article titles and publication dates and at least 20 sample articles

Programs for Reintegration of Survivors of Trafficking in Bulgaria

Duration: 1 January 2006 – 31 December 2007
Location: Sofia, Bulgaria  
Source: “Pro Victimis“ Foundation

Aim of the project:
The present project aims at contributing to the creation of an environment supporting the reintegration of survivors of trafficking.

This will be implemented through:

1. Establishment of accessible and sustainable specialized programmes for survivors of trafficking and their families within the Rehabilitation centre for women, adolescents and children survivors of violence. The aim is for the Centre to provide a favorable environment and an opportunity for competent and professional support to the women and children in need.  
2. Work in the community – lobbying, prevention, establishment of networks in support of the survivors, exchange of experience and training.

The project will support the programmes for direct support of the survivors as an integral part of the activities planned for Bulgaria in La Strada programme 2005 – 2007. It will be implemented on the territory of the Rehabilitation centre for women, adolescents and children survivors of violence.

In order to respond to the needs of survivors of trafficking, the Rehabilitation centre for women, adolescents and children survivors of violence will develop a multidisciplinary approach which includes:

• Psychotherapeutic and social work with survivors of trafficking, provided by specially trained professionals. The aim is for the survivors to receive help in overcoming the psychological trauma by supporting their internal resources for coping and social integration. 
• Work in the community – lobbying, prevention and establishment of networks in support of the survivors. The aim is to change the social attitudes and create environment sensitive to the problems of violence in which the survivors can feel supported and not isolated and marginalized.
• Training, exchange of experience and transference of the model of the Centre among different organizations and institutions. The aim is through training of specialists to transfer the positive practices in the work with the survivors, on the one hand, and in the work with institutions, on the other.

Public-Private Cooperation in the Prevention of Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation of Minors in Travel and Tourism Industry – Phase III

Duration: June 1 2006 – June 30 2007
Location: Bulgaria
Source: OSCE, Austrian Development Cooperation
Partnership: The project is implemented as a common effort by Animus Association Foundation, the State Agency for Child Protection (www.sacp.government.bg), the Austrian NGO ‘respect’ – Institute for Integrative Tourism and development (www.respect.at) and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)/Office of Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA) (www.osce.org)
Objectives: The project aims at introducing a new approach in combating trafficking in and sexual exploitation of children by having the travel, tourism and hospitality industry in Bulgaria adopt and implement the Code of Conduct for Prevention of Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation of Children in Tourism. The Bulgarian Code is part of a worldwide effort. It has been elaborated based upon the original Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism of ECPAT International, which is supported by UNICEF and the World Tourism Organisation. Representatives of the government, the non-governmental sector and the private sector took part in the process.
The Code of Conduct contains the following 6 criteria to be implemented by a company that adopts the Code:
- To establish a corporate ethical policy against commercial sexual exploitation of children,
- To provide preliminary and follow up training to the personnel in Bulgaria and abroad,
- To introduce clauses in contracts with suppliers of tourism and travel services, insuring non-allowance of sexual exploitation of children,
- To provide information to travellers by means of catalogues, brochures, films showed during the trip, web-sites., etc. developed by the company or provided by partner organisations,
- To provide information to key organizations involved with the protection of children from sexual exploitation in the country and abroad,
- To present yearly reports in the form of standard survey forms to the Permanent monitoring committee.

Within the first phase of the project the Code of Conduct was endorsed by the first representatives of Bulgarian tourism industry willing to introduce the prevention measures foreseen in the Code in their professional practice:

Bulgarian Business Leaders Forum (www.bblf.bg)
Bulgarian Convention and Visitors Bureau (www.bcvb.bg)
Bulgarian Hotel and Restaurant Association (www.bhra-bg.org)
Bulgarian Tourist Chamber (www.btch.org)
Bulgarian Association of Travel Agents (www.batabg.org)
PMK Hotels (www.pmk-bg.com)
Hotel Ambassador
Correct lee Travel
USIT Colours Bulgaria (www.usitcolours.bg)

The initiative has been actively supported by many governmental institutions including the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Labour and Social Police, Ministry of Health, Social Support Agency, National Service for Combating Organised Crime, National Police Service Directorate.
For the second phase of the project 3 trainings on the implementation of the Code are foreseen for the signatories. The trainings aim at facilitating the implementation process and further extending the cooperation among the NGO sector, the government and the private sector on anti-trafficking issues. With the support of the signatories other private stakeholders will be addressed to join the initiative. Information materials in 4 different languages will be printed and disseminated among tourists and business travellers to raise awareness on the issue of sexual exploitation of children in tourism.

La Strada IV - Programme for prevention of trafficking in women in Central and Eastern Europe
Duration: 2002-2004
Location: Bulgaria
Source: IICCO, the Netherlands; Global Ministries of United Churches, the Netherlands; Novib, the Netherlands; Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs/MATRA Program and Dutch Ministry of Justice.
Objectives: La Strada programme aims at revealing the real dimensions of trafficking in women and at engaging society and the institutions with combating this serious crime against human beings. The programme also provides support to the survivors and informs young women about the risks of becoming victims of trafficking.
La Strada programme develops activities in three interrelated areas: Lobbying and work with the media; Prevention; Victim assistance and social support.
Animus/La Strada has developed a model of multidisciplinary work against trafficking in women and in support of the survivors in accordance with the social, economic and cultural specificities of the Balkan region. The main obligation of Animus/La Strada - Bulgaria for the next three years will be to transfer this experience and to facilitate the launching of La Strada programme in Macedonia. Animus/La Strada will be a consultant, trainer and assistant in the first steps of the young team of La Strada - Macedonia.