I Have a Dream

I’m a 29-year-old mother from a small town in Bulgaria, Straldzha. I got married as a teenager at the age of 15, and had to drop out of school.

I regret this, because now I cannot find a good and stable job. I previously worked in the gardening team of the municipality, but the position was temporary. After that I applied and started working in a nearby big factory for automobile parts. The work is very hard, but at least this is one of the few options for stable work in the region. With the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis, the factory closed many departments and many of us were fired. In the months between May and September, I did not have stable job and worked in the agriculture sector around Straldzha. Recently the factory reopened and I applied once again for a different position. I want my two kids to have an education and have good jobs, both my boy and my girl. Now she is almost the age I was when I gave birth to her, and I really want to see her graduate and be educated. I don’t want her to get married early like me. I also assist with a project that aims to keep teenage girls in school and make them motivated to finish their education. I hope to be able to finish school myself one day, though it is difficult with work and work at home. I want to tell you about the problems of young people in my town.