Hippocampus is a project by the Naturalistichno Association. We have five years of experience working with visually impaired people. We provide them with jobs and opportunities to work, learn, explore new things and improve their lives. This year we built a mixed sailing crew together with captains with normal vision. When the weather is good, we make tours for the tourists at Pancharevo Lake near Sofia. If the weather is not good for sailing, we work with clay to create marine souvenirs.
People with disabilities in Bulgaria are facing many challenges - from bad infrastructure to not being able to find any kind of employment. There is a rising awareness for this issue, but unfortunately the government social politics is still far from adequate. Many visually impaired people spend most of their lives confined between the four walls of their room. At the same time, they have the same needs as everyone else and each of them wants to go out, travel, work and be accepted in society.
Our mission is to create a friendly and positive work environment that honors the differences of each person and transforms them into new experience. We provide boat tour services with an integrated crew of visually impaired people and captains with normal vision. We want to create an environment for integration and exchange of knowledge and experience. We also stimulate the physical activity and the creativity of the crew members.
By creating a work environment that educates and integrates the people we help them to improve their quality of life and self-esteem. We also help our clients to change their perception in regards of people with disabilities, helping them to see they also have many things to contribute to society.
