Bulgaria is facing the biggest wave of refugees in its history. Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, more than 60,000 Ukrainian refugees have entered Bulgaria. This is more than the 22,000 Armenians at the end of the 19th century. The number of Ukrainians who have arrived in about twenty days is almost as high as the number of refugees from Syria and Afghanistan for a whole year. For the whole of 2015, for example, when it was the peak of the then migrant crisis, the number of refugees in Bulgaria was 31,281.

Refugees from Ukraine are mostly mothers with children and elderly people who hope the war will end quickly and return to their homeland with their husbands and relatives. All of them are very traumatized and exhausted. Once they settle down, the need for play activities for the children will become bigger and bigger.

WWO is one of the few organisations in Bulgaria who work on early childhood development through play and has a signature program Element of Play® to help children overcome traumatic and negative experiences. With your support we can provide:

• A safe and comfortable play space in the city center of Sofia;

• A Ukrainian and Russian-speaking play specialist leading the play sessions;

• High-quality educational toys for children aged 0-7;

• Psychologists, art, speech therapists, etc. coming to the space;

• Equipment for the play space – soft carpets, baby cots, pillows;

• Fully equipped kitchen space for the mothers to cook and prepare baby food;

• Basic healthy food and drinks – fruit, vegetables, cereal, yoghurt.

Our team is prepared to provide information for other services mothers might need – healthcare, social services, employment, administrative, etc. and integrating and socializing events for the mothers and children

Working hours:

The play space will be open every Monday to Friday between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.