More than 160 people surveyed, dozens of individual conversations, meetings in local communities and a partnership with the school in the village of Stremtsi, ready to welcome future learners. This is part of the progress of the project “Path to Knowledge: Literacy and Opportunities for Adults in Kardzhali” for the period May – October 2026.

Over the past six months, the team of PULSE Foundation in Kardzhali has worked actively to reach people who, for various reasons, have interrupted their education or have not had the opportunity to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills.

Our journey took us through towns and small settlements in Kardzhali region, through meetings with local institutions, community centres and mayoralties, but above all through the personal stories of the people we spoke with.

We met people for whom reading and writing in Bulgarian are still a challenge. People who left school early to work or to care for their families. Women who for many years put the needs of their loved ones before their own development.

For many of them, returning to education is not an easy decision. It involves worries, uncertainty, family commitments and sometimes the belief that it is already too late to learn.

That is why we started with the most important thing – to talk, to listen and to build trust.

Through fieldwork, information campaigns and individual counselling, we gradually widened the circle of people the project reaches. We held information and motivational meetings in Kardzhali, Stremtsi, Perperek, Ardino, Momchilgrad, Tri Mogili, Stremovo, Yastreb, Sokolyane and other settlements. We also took part in local events and festivals, which gave us the opportunity to talk with even more people.

In October alone, more than 50 people took part in the meetings in Stremtsi, Tri Mogili, Stremovo, Yastreb and Sokolyane. We also held three open-door days at the foundation’s office in Kardzhali.

An important part of our progress is cooperation with institutions. During the reporting period, we held meetings and conversations with representatives of the Regional Education Department, the Employment Agency Directorate (Labour Office) – Kardzhali, local government and other partners. We worked together to reach the people who most need educational support and to prepare the conditions for their inclusion..

A particularly important step is the partnership with the “Saints Cyril and Methodius” school in the village of Stremtsi.

Thanks to the cooperation with the principal, Feime Ismail, and the teaching team, over the past months we discussed the organisation of the learning process, the preparation of the first training group and the conditions needed to launch the courses. The school is our key partner in the upcoming educational stage, and the joint preparation for the start of the training continues.

The past months of work have shown us that motivating adults to return to education takes time, patience and persistence. Not every conversation ends in a decision to take part. Not every meeting leads to an immediate result. But every meeting is an opportunity to overcome at least one barrier – mistrust, fear of failure or the feeling that education no longer has a place in a person’s life.

For us, progress is not only in the numbers. It is in people’s readiness to ask questions, share their concerns, consider new opportunities and gradually come to believe that they can move forward. We believe that education can open doors to better work, greater independence and a more confident future. Because it is never too late to learn. And it is never too late to believe in your own abilities.

The project “Path to Knowledge: Literacy and Opportunities for Adults in Kardzhali”, Contract No. BG05SFPR001-1.007-0003-C01, is co-funded by the European Union under the “Education” Programme 2021-2027.

This publication was created under Contract BG05SFPR001-1.007-0003-C01 “Path to Knowledge: Literacy and Opportunities for Adults in Kardzhali”, co-funded by the European Union under procedure BG05SFPR001-1.007 Adult Literacy (through selection) of the “Education” Programme 2021-2027. Sole responsibility for the content of the publication lies with PULSE Foundation, and it can under no circumstances be taken to reflect the official position of the European Union and the “Education” Programme.