From August 28 to 31, 2025, a four-day summer workshop will be held in Kovatschevitsa where around 35-40 children - autistic, developmentally delayed, and socially disadvantaged - will acquire new skills and through their participation contribute to their own physical, emotional, cognitive, and psychosocial integration. The workshop takes place in the village of Kovatschevitsa in the western Rhodopes (Blagoevgrad Province, Bulgaria). 

​

It is organized by the Foundation for Persons with Developmental Challenges of Milena Kuncheva, whose Villa Autistika project we support. The program includes group work in pottery and ceramics, water painting (Ebru), wood burning (also called pyrography), dance and movement therapy, fairy-tale telling, and garden work.

​

Project Goals

• Acquisition of new knowledge and skills by the participating children

• Overcoming social isolation and promoting social integration of children with developmental challenges

• Enhancing the children’s self-esteem

• Creating a supportive environment and raising awareness in the local community

• Promoting the physical, emotional, cognitive, and psychosocial integration of participants

• Mutual psychological support for parents

• Encouraging understanding of the arts as a means of self-expression, building motivation and self-confidence

​

Importance of the Project

For children with autism spectrum disorders, it is important to develop social skills and gain independence. This happens through the development of communication skills and stimulating different forms of relationships. Staying in the village of Kovatschevitsa — a place with unique energy and historical background — offers an excellent opportunity in a relatively protected environment to break the traditional pattern of “home-school-therapy-home.”

Through positive emotional experiences with peers, the participants learn new skills and even communication strategies to better integrate into society. Being together in a kind of camp-environment will also strengthen their sense of self-worth and belonging.

​

Project Success Indicators

• Participation of at least 30 children and youth with developmental challenges and at least 10 children from surrounding villages

• Informing at least 5,000 citizens about the idea and implementation of the project

• Acquisition of new skills, suitability for group work

• Satisfaction among all participants – active and passive – and among observers

• Experience of meaning, empowerment, social inclusion, and strengthened self-confidence

• Raised awareness, increased empathy and acceptance among the community

• Use of both social and traditional media to promote the activities and the success of the project​

​

Donate now – every franc counts!