English teacher trainees pose with some of their “practice students.”
The atmosphere was festive but also slightly sad on April 2, as the group of English teacher trainees who participated in the Bulgarian Center for Development and Training (BCDT) one-month course celebrated its completion. The group of Roma and non-Roma participants from Sofia and other locations in Bulgaria acquired new skills and forged lasting friendships. The opportunity to interact closely with peers from different ethnic groups was powerful and extremely valuable for the participants. One participant commented that coming from a small, ethnically homogenous town she had never worked so closely with Roma people. Noting that she was surprised by how much she learned from and enjoyed the experience, she said that she would like to create more opportunities in her community for interaction between ethnic groups.
The training was supported by USAID and the Democracy Commission of the U.S. Embassy. BCDT Director Matt Brown commented that the training had been an extremely intense experience, but transformative for all involved.
