Habitat for Humanity Bulgaria

Contact information HFH Bulgaria 5 Victor Hugo St Floor 2, Apt 7 Sofia 1124 Bulgaria Phone: +359 29832410 Fax: +359 29832410 E-mail: n.sidjimov@habitatbulgaria.eu         Web site habitatbulgaria.org				Habitat's Work in Bulgaria Number of families served this year*: 84 Incremental house sponsorship cost: US$1,560         Bulgaria News and Stories Bulgaria: Keeping families together Building, upgrading and educating My Home Will Not Be My Fortress
Country profile

Housing need
Located in Southeastern Europe in the heart of the Balkan Peninsula, Bulgaria boasts a rich cultural history and bountiful natural resources. The first Bulgarian kingdom dates back to 681 AD, making it one of the oldest countries in Eastern Europe. The first to have been introduced to the Cyrillic alphabet in the 9th Century, Bulgaria was also an early adopter of Christianity.

After World War II, Bulgaria was a satellite of the Soviet Union until 1991. In January 2007, together with neighboring Romania, Bulgaria became a member of the European Union. Today, the country of 7.2 million hosts a growing private sector and a vibrant civil society. The spectacular Black Sea coastline and moderate temperatures make it a popular tourist destination.

Nevertheless, Bulgaria’s transition to democracy and a market economy after the collapse of communism has been difficult, and the country is still striving to improve low standards of living.

During the communist days, the government provided low-interest housing loans for families to buy homes in poor-quality panel blocks of flats. Once a market economy took hold, the responsibility for housing fell on the local authorities who have no resources to deal with the problem. As a result, more and more homes need major repairs while many homeowners cannot afford even the basic maintenance. Although it is expected to bring long-term benefits, the European Union accession significantly increased the cost of property in Bulgaria, especially in the capital, pricing more and more families out of the market.


Habitat in Bulgaria
Habitat for Humanity Bulgaria works with low-income families from all walks of life to improve their housing conditions. We offer support to single mothers, individuals with physical or mental disabilities, Roma families and ordinary working families with low incomes. HFH Bulgaria provides affordable loans with long repayment periods to those in need of simple, decent shelter. Typically, Habitat partner families use loan proceeds to make repairs to their homes and improve their homes’ energy efficiency.

In Dink and Kalekovec, two villages that suffered severe flooding in summer of 2005, HFH Bulgaria is helping families relocate to safer land, where they will be able to build new houses and offering affordable home-improvement loans to families seeking to repair damage to their homes.

Another HFH Bulgaria project ensures support for the families with physically disabled children. In Bulgaria, physically challenged people constitute more than 10 percent of the population, according to the National Statistical Institute, and there are more than 19,000 children with disabilities. HFH Bulgaria’s project is helping 20 families from Sofia to reconstruct their homes to make them more accessible and less dependent on assistant from the families.

At the same time, HFH Bulgaria joined efforts with local NGOs and governmental institutions to to provide assistance for improving living conditions of Roma families from the region of Stara Zagora and two surrounding villages. At present the Roma are living in makeshift houses with bad sanitary conditions – no running water, toilets or bathroom, poor heating and wall insulation. The project is aimed at giving 50 families home improvement credit. The low-cost loans are repaid in 1-2 years and are used for small renovations.

In 2008, HFH Bulgaria started a large-scale microfinance project with Mikrofond EAD, a respected local microfinance institution. The Joint Housing Fund distributes affordable loans to low-income households for home improvements. When one family repays it, funds are given out again to another family. The Joint Housing Fund will help more than 2,400 households within 10 years.


Volunteer involvement (corporations, groups, local, churches)
Habitat for Humanity Bulgaria is looking at relaunching its Global Village program in 2009, after successfully hosting teams in 2004 and 2005. HFH Bulgaria hosted six Global Village groups with more than 50 participants.

Habitat Highlights
Regular joint efforts on the construction site strengthened the partnership between HFH Sofia and local U.S. Peace Corps volunteers.