SPRINT - Meeting in Bulgaria

Week abroad for our Committee: this time the Director Roberto Rinaldi, the International Project Manager Francesca Di Feo and the educator and volunteer of the Civil Service Roxana Brosteanu went to Varna first and then to Plovdiv to carry out a series of meetings concerning the SPRINT project.

SPort foR InclusioN and Tolerance - from which the acronym is born - focuses in particular on the inclusion and promotion of sport for disadvantaged people, such as children with disabilities and residing in family homes, through a work of collection and data analysis. During the meeting, which lasted from Tuesday 19 to Friday 22 June, the representatives of the Committee were confronted with the delegations of the other partners involved - Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary - and visited two different structures that deal with people with disabilities. The first, in Varna, is a school that deals with the visually impaired and the blind. "This was the first to be born of the two structures - one in Varna, another in Sofia - that can be found in Bulgaria. Here we have about 150 children with disabilities who are minors of school age - some of whom are residents at the school itself - followed by around 90 subjects including teachers, psychologists and various staff, "explained the school director. The second facility, in the center of Plovdiv, houses children with disabilities from 18 to 35 years old. Here the groups of the different countries have been able to try some sports, challenging a mini-golf game and learning some basic judo moves. "We try to offer many activities to our children, not just sports", explained the manager of the structure. "For example, we offer art therapy and music therapy activities, also engaging in housework. We also offer trips in spring and summer, while in winter we organize a Christmas party. Overall, while not obliging our children to practice any activity, we try to increase the skills acquired at school and to integrate them better within society ". During the various visits, Roxana Brosteanu also illustrated her experience within Muoversi Allegramente Onlus, an amateur association that sees sport as a moment of aggregation and personal growth in the world of disability. "Once again we are thrilled to have dealt with these issues within a European project and to have made our contribution. Sport practice is once again affirmed as an important tool for social integration in the context of the integration of disadvantaged people, just as we have seen happen in Bulgaria, "said Director Rinaldi. "It was a very productive meeting from all points of view, especially as regards mutual comparison and we hope that the project can continue without a hitch. We were also pleasantly satisfied with the speed with which the partners have delivered their data and results, even if still partial "Di Feo said. The overall data will in fact be submitted to all the members involved only at the end of October, during the intermediate meeting that will take place in Hungary, to be precise in Nyíregyháza.