With the beginning of the spring, in the Sofia Bread Houses started a series of meetings „Like at home – we make bread, we share, we play”. They are part of the Council of Refugee Women in Bulgaria’s project „Psychosocial activities with women and children, refugees and asylum-seekers, housed in the regional reception centers of the State Agency for Refugees in Sofia”. The project is funded by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Fund for Asylum, Migration and Integration of the European Commission.

From March to July this year, the Bread House in Sofia will host children from families seeking protection and women seeking protection from Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan. In a cozy and welcoming space they will prepare bread and other pastry products and will have the chance to interact, share stories and of course to have fun.

The first meeting in the frame of the project was on 7th March and gathered 11 women from Afghanistan and Iran living in one of the reception centers in Sofia. The topic of the meeting was “Who am I and why am I here?” While the women were painting in flour and sharing stories, in the next room their children had creative activities with an animator. The project continued on 13th March with bread making for children dedicated to spring, involving 10 children aged 3 to 16, from Afghanistan and Iran together with their mothers. The children prepared dough, from which they formed shapes and sculptures. Their mothers were helping them while using the time to discuss and share their experiences.