Caritas Bulgaria

Founded 1993

632

Staff and volunteers

5,702

Beneficiaries

About Caritas Bulgaria

Caritas Bulgaria consists of three dioceses: Caritas Sofia, Caritas Ruse and Caritas Vitania. It is registered as a Bulgarian non-profit organisation that implements social work to support vulnerable people in society.

Established in 1993 by the Bishops’ Conference of the Catholic Church in Bulgaria with a mission to create a more humane and just society in which all people, especially those living in poverty, can live with dignity.  The main areas of work are:

  • Providing social, health and educational care and services.
  • Responding to emergency situations;
  • Advocacy activities before the Bulgarian government to develop and implement long-term and effective social policies that lead to sustainable improvement of the quality of life of people in vulnerable situations.

For elderly people, there are Caritas Home Care Centres in Sofia, Ruse, Belene, Plovdiv, Rakovsky, Malko Tarnovo, and the villages of Zhitnitsa (Plovdiv district) and Bardarski geran (Vratsa district). Through mobile teams of nurses and social assistants, they provide comprehensive health and social care at the homes of needy elderly people in 13 villages and towns in Bulgaria.

For homeless people, there is a Caritas Sofia Mobile Support Centre in the town of Sofia, a Caritas Sofia Mobile and Stationary Care Centre in the town of Burgas, a Caritas Ruse shelter in the town of Ruse and a Caritas Ruse Centre for social rehabilitation and integration also in Ruse. These services provide homeless people with food, clothing, accommodation, social counselling, psychological and health assistance and other comprehensive professional care and services.

The Caritas Sofia Centre provides several services for migrants and asylum seekers, such as psychological assistance, Bulgarian language courses, educational services, home and employment assistance, social consultations, humanitarian assistance, a mentoring programme and other activities.

In support of people with disabilities and long-term unemployed people in the town of Rakovski, Caritas Vitania operates a social enterprise ‘Rabotilnitsa na Caritas’ where hand soaps and candles are manufactured. Participation in the work activities and trainings, as well as the psychological and social support from the professional Caritas team, helps people in vulnerable situations to acquire work experience, to restore their confidence and dignity and to overcome their social isolation.

In support of children at risk, children and young people with disabilities and disadvantaged women in Sofia, Caritas Sofia operates the social enterprise ‘CaritArt’, which works in the field of applied arts and manufactures greeting cards, badges, pottery, leather, yarn and textile articles. The goal of the Caritas social enterprise is to give vulnerable people the opportunity to show their talents, build and upgrade working and social skills, become confident that they are needed by society and to receive financial support.

Carita Bulgaria is a member of Caritas Internatinalis and Caritas Europa as well as other relevant organisations such as: the Bulgarian Council on Refugees and Migrants, Bulgarian Platform for International Development, National Council on Social Inclusion Issues at the Council of Ministers, Christian Organisations Against Trafficking Network (COATNET).

General information

Msgr. Rumen Stanev
President
president@caritas.bg

Mr. Emanouil Patashev
Secretary General
e.patashev@caritas.bg

Address:
Oborishte Street 9
1504 Sofia
Bulgaria

Telephone: +359 2 944 18 58
Fax: +359 2 946 11 33
Email: caritas@caritas.bg
Website: http://www.caritas.bg

Donate

Where there is a need, there is a Caritas

Our members across Europe

Or view map here