UNICEF is United Nations Children’s Fund and part of UN big family. Since 1946, UNICEF is a leading organization working for the benefits of all children, represented in more than 150 countries around the world.
UNICEF Mission
- Advocate for the protection of children’s rights, help meet their basic needs and expand their opportunities to reach their full potential;
- Mobilise political will, resources and facilities to help countries ensure a “first call for children” and build an adequate capacity for action;
- Respond in emergencies to relieve the suffering of children and those who provide their care;
- Promote the equal rights of women and girls, and support their full participation in the development of their communities;
- Work towards the human development goals, and the peace and social progress enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.
The overall goal of the UNICEF country programme is to support the Government’s vision for Bulgarian children to grow up healthy, educated, informed, socially active and responsible in a safe, secure, enabling and supportive family and social environment so they feel confident in their development as young people. Pursuing this goal will contribute to ensuring children’s rights and to the sustainable implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the child.
At national level UNICEF assists and strengthens the existing national institutions responsible for the intersectoral coordination to place children’ s rights issues at the forefront of the political agenda and introduce an integrated national policy framework for children.
At sub-national level, UNICEF supports the capacity development of district and municipal authorities for the adoption of new approaches for promoting child protection and development programmes. The principles of human rights-based approaches to programming and results-based management are the milestone of capacity-building of local social protection authorities.
UNICEF supports the best practices and models in child protection and well-being, young people ‘s development and participation, early childhood development (ECD) and development of alternative social services for children. These projects are being piloted, assessed and promoted on a national scale.
The objectives of the programme of UNICEF Bulgaria for the period 2006 – 2009 focused on social policy and advocacy, monitoring the compliance of child rights and development and protection of children and young people. The components of the programme of UNICEF (2010 – 2012) are “Social integrity and Reduce of Child Poverty” and “Social Mobilization and Communication for Development”.
The non-profit association “Cat friends” was established by a group of volunteers in the spring of 2007 in help of the thousands of stray cats, of cats who were abandoned by unconscientious owners, battered, hurt by dogs and cars, or ones looking for home for another reason.
“Life as it is – being a parent” is a documentary series which meets us with parents and their children during the first years of childhood. The show brings in a lot of problems which Bulgarian parents meet and have to deal with daily – from doctors’ attitude to lack of assistance from social service and nursery officials. The program shows situations from real life related to caring for children with disabilities and helping single mothers. Here are the 
