Maria Yankova, Education Officer, UNICEF Bulgaria
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In Bulgaria, for every special education teacher there are over 6 children in need of their help. This means many children don’t get the support they need to develop their full potential. This is especially true in smaller cities, where the ratio of children to teachers is even bigger. This situation was complicated even further by the enforced move to distance learning during the Covid-19 pandemic.
UNICEF Bulgaria, in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Science and the Regional Centre for Supporting the Process of Inclusive Education, initiated the project ‘Help Me Thrive’ which aims to enable all children and adolescents, including the most disadvantaged, to access education and develop to their full potential in an inclusive and protective society — a task complicated by the enforced move to distance learning during the pandemic.
Our job was to design and deliver the platform which would become a hub to empower learners, educators, parents, and specialists to come together, collaborate, and help children with disabilities and special needs thrive.