In Bulgarian society, there is a group of children to whom almost no attention is paid. They often remain invisible, and in the last 10 years their number has been constantly increasing. These are the refugee children who left their homes, homeland, school and friends and came to Bulgaria to seek salvation and security. To them we can also add migrant children whose parents have decided to live here temporarily or permanently. All of them are faced with the challenge of learning Bulgarian so that they can cope at school, create new friendships and integrate successfully. ‎

The problem faced not only by them, but also by many teachers who accept refugee and migrant children in their classes, is how to learn a language without available textbooks and teaching materials. This has motivated the Reachout Foundation to create a package of educational materials using its experience working with these children. 

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The textbook "ABV first steps" was created especially for refugee and migrant children to help them learn Bulgarian at the initial stage, when they start school or start a language course, since until that moment most learning aids for refugees and migrants are intended for adults”, explains Kristina Gologanova, executive director of the foundation.

“Until now, there was no unified system in Bulgaria, and each teacher had to decide on his or her own how to teach their students. We created this resource to meet a need for students attending the educational program of Reachout , and with the support of our partners, we were able to create a product that can be used by a wide range of educators, teachers at school, in language schools, courses that are organized by non-governmental organizations, volunteers, and anyone who wants to somehow contribute to helping refugee children."

The package includes a textbook and a study book. They present 10 themes, specially selected and illustrated for children, through which they can learn words, grammar and interesting facts about Bulgaria. Among them are "My Home", "My Family", "My School", "In the City", "Professions" and other topics from the children's world. ‎

During the activities, the children will be helped by Elena, Samir and Raisa, as well as the little whale inspired by the illustration of the first Bulgarian textbook - "The Fish Primer" by Peter Beron, which directs their attention to the features of the language that they must to remember. 

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The tool will be widely available, and its electronic version will be absolutely free: ‎

‎"With the support of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, we managed to print 200 copies. The circulation is small because it was originally intended to be online only. The second print run will be larger - specifies Kristina Gologanova. - But mainly we will distribute it online so that it is accessible to everyone - schools, teachers and the children themselves, because quite a few children from other countries study in different cities of Bulgaria.

The textbook "ABV first steps" will be available in about a month, after registration on the organization's website https://www.reachout.bg/bg