New Playgrounds for Children with Cerebral Palsy and Special Needs Planned in Sofia
Jerusalem, 11 September, 2025 (TPS-IL) -- Sofia (BTA) – The Sofia Municipal Council adopted a program for the construction of specialized playgrounds for children with motor disabilities, cerebral palsy and special educational needs (SEN) today.
The report was submitted by municipal councilors from the GERB-SDF group Vanya Tagareva, Dr. Anton Koychev, Dimitar Vuchev and Ekaterina Yordanova.
They note that for the first time, the Sofia Municipality budget for 2025 includes BGN 750,000 ($449,000) for the construction of specialized playgrounds for children with motor disabilities, cerebral palsy (CP) and special educational needs.
The main motive of the submitters is the creation of an equal environment for the development of the children of Sofia, proposing that the relevant outdoor playgrounds be equipped with special play facilities, which include ramps and safety systems. “By building separate play areas, we will provide an opportunity for socialization, adaptation, a level of formation of social, useful skills that will help the life realization of children with special needs, as well as provide support for their families,” the submitters indicated in the report.
They cite statistics according to which, according to the National Association of Resource Teachers, there are nearly 25,000 children and students with SEN in Bulgaria, and according to the World Health Organization, every tenth child in the world has varying degrees of disabilities or special needs. According to the data of the Ministry of Education and Science in Sofia, the number of children with SEN is 4,981, who are educated in 276 schools, and the total number of students is 146,773, or children with SEN represent 3.39% of the total number of students. In kindergartens and nurseries in Sofia, out of a total of 52,032 children, 2,329 are children with SEN, which represents 4.47% of the total number of children.
Unfortunately, there are still certain prejudices and stereotypes that subject special children to some discrimination. However, “with institutional support, they will be overcome more quickly, which is why we propose that with the provided resource of 750,000 BGN [$449,000], six playgrounds be built, with an estimated value of up to 125,000 BGN [$74,900] for each,” the submitters of the report said.
The specialized playgrounds will be built in the yard of the Specialized Hospital for Cerebral Palsy “St. Sofia”. The remaining playgrounds will be built in the South Park, the North Park, Borisova Garden, as well as in the two most populous metropolitan districts “Mladost” and “Lyulin”.
The contracting authority for the projects for the reconstruction of existing playgrounds and their adaptation with play facilities for children with motor disabilities, cerebral palsy and special needs will be the regional mayors, with the aim of operational and timely implementation of the Program by the end of the 2025 budget year, the municipal councilors also wrote in the report.
