Health and education of young people are among the main priorities of BFPA from the very beginning. The main directions of work connected with adolescents include health and sexuality education, peer education, health prevention and planning and organizing of special youth events. Healthy life style, sexual and reproductive health, HIV and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), drug abuse and addictions, trafficking for sexual exploitation, contraception, hygiene and puberty are only part of the topics on which young people receive information and can discuss with our team. BFPA’s approach to working with young people includes equal participation and youth-adult partnership.
In 2000 BFPA started working on a project financed by the PHARE-ACCESS programme of EU in six Juvenile Detention Centers (JDC) and seven Social Pedagogical Centers (SPC). The project activities included the organizing and holding of a series of educational modules in the area of sexual and reproductive health for adolescents in these institutions. Coming up with adequate information materials for the target auditorium was also an important part of the activities.This project lasted for 2 years (until 2002) but due to the needs of the adolescents in these institutions BFPA applied for funding for the next two years through the International Planned Parenthood Federation. In 2005, from the state budget of the Republic of Bulgaria, BFPA received the opportunity to work with the teachers and staff at the JDCs and SPCs by training them for mentors on the topics of sexual and reproductive health, as the Association provided suitable information materials. In 2006-2008 BFPA ensured funding for medical screenings in six SPCs their focus being sexually transmitted diseases. Starting at the end of 2008 and all through 2009 the BFPA worked with SPC staff for providing the young people with suitable medical services. Nowadays in the period 2013-2018 as part of the project “The art to inform” funded by the OAK foundation BFPA is restoring the work with the remaining 4 JDCs and 2 SPCs in the process of deinstitutionalization with main goal prevention of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse towards young people there. For 2022 like in previous years BFPA continues its work with the youth groups in the four locations where are functioning the branches of the organization as well as in another locations with the support of our partner networks and the Medical Students Associations. We will continue our work with vulnerable young people in various types of institutions – boarding schools, foster care units as well as with young Roma that have difficult access to health care and education. We count on the active participation of our young volunteers and we hope 2022 will be a good year for health education from legislative point of view, as well as for the institutionalizing of the preparation of health and sexuality education high school teachers. 2019 was the year in which we trained for a third consecutive year the volunteers of Red Cross Youth in ToT for health and sexuality education. We started, in partnership with Sofia municipality, MoH and Red Cross a Sofia Academy for peer educators in the field of CSE and the first peers from 5 schools were certified at the end of the scholar year in June 2019. In 2020 we can proudly say that this became an annual activity for schools in the capital city. In 2021 BFPA produced 5 short videos “And thank you for the fish” on the life and personalities of five young adults, former volunteers and peer educators of BFPA. We oriented part of BFPA youth related activities towards audiovisual materials elaboration – short animated educational videos on different topics, related with health and sexuality education and health literacy, uploaded to BFPA You Tube channel Below are enumerated the brand new accents in our work in 2022: -The Covid -19 pandemic for a second year is not giving the opportunity to hold live trainings and gatherings in the cold months. So, the Sofia Academy for peer educators in the field of CSE, active in the last two years was upgraded in 2021 to Academy for Visionaries. The Academy goes on in 2022 - BFPA team in partnership with the Sport and Youth Directorate of Sofia Municipality is mentoring young people in the division “Civic and Health Education. Media Literacy” - New, modern vision of our website and ongoing info upgrade - Mapping of the youth groups and young volunteers we work with national-wide - Online counseling of parents on how to communicate with their children on sensitive topics related with puberty and growing up with starting point the finalized at the end of 2018 short animated video on puberty, 2 short animations from 2021 - for the need of health education and on the ways of infections to human body, as well as the other informational products of the organization. - stimulating youth creativity and implementing youth ideas for public participation and health campaigns - for a second year - youth led Instagram profile of BFPA in Instagram |
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28 new health mediators from the class of 2022 received their certificates after successfully passing the exam |
Sofia, April 29, 2022 On March 21, 2021, the new scholar year was opened for health mediators from all over the country. The training is organized for the eleventh consecutive year by the National Network of Health Mediators and the Faculty of Public Health at the Medical University of Sofia. As always, BFPA experts are part of the training team. This year's course includes 28 health mediators, who will start working in May in 22 municipalities in the country. |
Working Conference of LAP and Starting the ‘Eyes Peeled’ Campaign |
Sofia, April 18, 2022 On April 18, 2022 in Sofia the National conference of the Learning Action Partnership on zero tolerance towards sexual exploitation of children was held. |
Migration: risks and opportunities during labor migration in UK |
Samokov, March 28, 2022 A team from the Bulgarian Family Planning and Sexual Health Association (BFPA) delivered in Samokov an information session on March 28, 2022 in the “HUB-a” coworking space. Among the participants there representatives of the local Roma community, young people form 11 and 12 grade and their teachers, representatives of the Social services and the Municipality. Pavlina Filipova and Dr. Radosveta Stamenkova talked with the gathered about the opportunities and potential dangers when starting a job in the UK. Dobryana Petkova, a professional with long year practice in prevention of trafficking people, shared with the group on some specific marks to recognize the danger of trafficking people for labor and sexual exploitation. The training team was complemented by Villy Angelova form the British Embassy in Sofia and Ralitza Zgalevska from the BFPA team. |