Sungurlare

General Information
 
ROMACT Cycle: 
Closed
Mayor of the Municipality: 
Georgi Kenov
Contact Person within the Municipality: 
Dinyu Ivanov, Mayor of Chubra village
Facilitators: 
Diyan Dankov
Total population: 
12 559
Source: 
National census 2011
Roma living in the Municipality: 
4 000
Description of the Municipality: 

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The Municipality of Sungurlare is located in the southeastern part of Bulgaria and is included in the administrative-territorial boundaries of the Bourgas region. It includes a total of 28 settlements, the administrative center being Sungurlare. Larger settlements with more than 800 people are the villages of Manolich, Saedinenie and Lozarevo. A large part of the territory is sparsely populated.
According to the census of the 2011, the ethnic composition is: Bulgarians 6.193 (49.31%), Turks 3.553 (28.29%), Roma 929 (7.39%). The total population numbers 12.559 people.
 
The Roma population in the municipality lives mainly in four settlements: Chubra - 270 people, Lozarevo - 161, Valchin - 117 and Sungurlare - 156 people. The total number of Roma in the municipality is about 4.000, according to unofficial municipal data. Around 929 identified themselves as Roma, the rest prefer to be called Millet, Turks or Bulgarians.
 
The poverty risk of the population is rated to be 45,9 % . 85 families receive monthly benefits from the local social services; 90% of them are Roma families. 500 persons are registered as unemployed; 300 of them are Roma.
 
The school dropout is high, the main reasons are related to the economic situation (low family income, unemployed parents), social reasons (parental disinterest, poor living conditions), personal reasons (lack of motivation to learn, negative attitude towards school, the language barrier etc.). Early marriages are no exception in Sungurlare Municipality. Despite the fact that in recent years their number decreased, it has also been one of the reasons for dropping out of school, especially among girls aged 14-16.
 
The majority of housing districts with predominantly Roma population are without sewerage. All dwellings are supplied with water, connected to the electricity grid and have organized waste disposal.
 

The ROMACT Process

Sungurlare municipality joined the ROMACT program in October 2017 with the letter of agreement

A Community Action Group (CAG) was created in November 2017 and finalised the List of Priorities by June 2018, following a training on data collection via community research and needs assessment. 

In December 2017, the Taskforce for Roma Inclusion was created. In July 2018, the Municipal Action Plan for Roma Inclusion (MAPRI) was updated base on CAG list of priorities and adopted by the Local Council.

On 1 February 2019, CAG was registered as an NGO.

Several trainings were provided:

the CAG was trained/coached on:
* Data collection and preparation of the Community needs assessment  
* Communication as an advocacy tool
* Planning, implementation and monitoring of MAPRI
* Preparation and adoption of a municipal budget
* Establishment of an NGO
* Advocating with Local Authorities for addressing social exclusion and marginalization
* Combating discrimination

The Local Authorities were trained/coached on:
* Available funding opportunities

The CAG and the Local Authorities were jointly trained on: 
* Planning the implementation of short and medium-term activities.
* Planning quality social inclusion projects

The Municipality benefited of ROMACT expertise for the following project:
* Early child development opportunities for Roma children from Sungurlare” - OPHRD Transnational cooperation - Approved- Budget: 98 273 euros
* Europe for minorities- Youth worked Mobility-  ERASMUS+- Rejected
* Reducing community pressure for early marriages- ERASMUS+- Rejected
*  “Let’s keep traditions in our hearts “  - FM of EEA 2014-2020- Rejected
* "Fair chances for better future of Roma In Sungulare and Antonovo municipalities", FM of EEA 2014-202- Under evaluation

ROMACT implementation finished in September 2019. 

ROMACT Small Grants Scheme
 
ROMACT offers small grants scheme to support the efforts of the municipalities and Community Action Groups to respond together to the needs of the most vulnerable and to multiply the good practices across ROMACT municipalities.
 
Under the scheme of small grants, the following project was supported by ROMACT during November 2020 – March 2021:
Create a supporting environment for Roma youth – Association RO-MAG in Sungurlare
ROMACT supported the association with 4934 € to create a welcoming and supporting place where young people can safely gather to discuss community and youth issues, exchange ideas, plan and organize activities such as sport events or entertainment. Two separate rooms were spared in the municipality for the youth club. The procurement of tables, chairs, a laptop and a sound system enabled young people to be creative and interactive in their gatherings or in planning activities. This project benefitted around 600 young Roma people through providing an inclusive environment in the rural villages of Grozden and Slavyantsi.

 

Timeline Points

13 Oct 2017
Step 1- Becoming Commited- Signature of the letter of commitment
11 Nov 2017
Creation of CAG
13 Dec 2017
Creation of Taskforce
30 Apr 2018
Step 4- Funding, Implementing, Monitoring- Project proposal was submitted to the OPHRD Transnational Cooperation
31 Jul 2018
Step 3- Translating priorities into measures and projects- Adoption of the updated Municipal Action Plan for Roma Inclusion
26 Sep 2019
End of ROMACT implementation
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