After a two-year break due to COVID, A1 Bulgaria and the National Foster Care Association hosted a spring camp for young people from foster families. The event was attended by 20 young people from different regions in the country. The camp was held at the National STEM Center in Sofia.

The "Sharing Together" camp focused on the personal stories of the youth as well as attachment, belonging and connection with others. The leaders of the camp were Sami Isoniemi, a police officer who grew up in foster care in Finland, and Hava Bilen, a Bulgarian woman who was one of the first foster children in our country.

On the first day of the training, the young people had the opportunity to present themselves and talk about the strengths and weaknesses of foster parenting. Among the positive sides, the children highlighted the creation of security, the love that is received in the foster family, the feeling of belonging to a family and the opportunity to learn and achieve their dreams. As for weaknesses, young people pointed out that there are foster parents who are more strict and restrictive, and that children in foster care are often discriminated against, abused, and neglected at school.

In the following days, the young people had the opportunity to talk openly about their experiences and their stories, and learn how to communicate, share wisely, and build trust with others. The main difficulties young people reported were that they often felt isolated, that they did not receive enough attention to talk about their stories, and that they felt alone in their experiences. Trusting others also proves to be a serious challenge.

During their stay in Sofia the young people visited the head office of A1 Bulgaria and in the form of a discussion with Petya Nikolova, Senior Expert in Human Resources, they discussed their life plans, their future professional intentions and received valuable advice. Students from foster families actively participated in the conversation about how personal qualities can become sustainable strengths and support career realization.

"Career guidance for teenage youth is a topic that often goes overlooked. For children in foster care, the guidance and advice that our colleagues at Human Resources provide is even more valuable in enabling them to develop as contributing members of society, with confidence and self-esteem in their knowledge and abilities. The cause of foster care is very important for A1 and it is no coincidence that we have been supporting it for over 10 years because we believe in the right to a peaceful childhood and a bright future for all children," said Iliana Zaharieva, Director of Corporate Communications at A1 Bulgaria.

In the conversation with the representatives of A1, the participants in the camp also asked questions on important topics such as how to look for a job and how to find the right job. They received valuable advice on how to behave in a team, how to develop relationships with colleagues, including how to be leaders. Among the topics touched upon in the discussion were also those related to challenges and how to deal with shame, embarrassment, and weaknesses at school, as well as how to win more friends to their side.

"We, at the National Foster Care Association, have believed for 13 years that supporting young people in foster care is key to their formation as individuals.  I would like to thank A1 for more than 10 years of helping us to keep in constant contact with the children, their foster parents, and helping them to be more successful", commented Miroslav Dolapchiev, Chairman of NFCA.  

During their visit, the young people were able to use for the first time the Sofia underground and walk around the capital thanks to the public transport access cards provided by Sofia Municipality, visit the National Theatre, play bowling and visit “Muzeiko”.

"The most valuable thing I think we achieved with the young people in this camp is that we gave them the space to talk openly about what is happening to them. We helped them to connect their story to their feelings, and to understand that the future cannot go on without addressing and accepting the past," said Hawa Bilen, a trainer at the camp.

According to Sami Isoniemi, the creation of communities of young people who have been through foster care shows that they are not the only ones, that they have common experiences, common values and common dreams. "I have been to dozens of places, I have met hundreds of young people in foster care. And every time I have seen how strong the bond between people with similar experiences can be", adds the Finnish police officer.

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"We, at the National Foster Care Association, have believed for 13 years that supporting young people in foster care is key to their formation as individuals.  I would like to thank A1 for more than 10 years of helping us to keep in constant contact with the children, their foster parents, and helping them to be more successful", commented Miroslav Dolapchiev, Chairman of NFCA.

The initiatives of NFCA that A1 supports are aimed at providing a positive family environment for more children in the country. A1's investment in the cause of foster care in the country for the last 10 years in various forms of funding exceeds half a million leva (BGN). The company provides educational supplies for foster students, and older foster students receive youth career counseling. In recent years, special graduation dinners for foster youth, ceremonies for contributions to foster care and annual foster parent meetings have been organized.