From April 22, you are again heading the “Social Assistance” Directorate in the city of Plovdiv. Before that, you were the head of the Social Assistance Agency in the capital. What of your work in recent months will you bring to “native land”?
I am extremely happy to be going back home. My entire career has been dedicated to developing and improving social work. I also teach students. I advise them to remain working in the welfare system only if they are wholeheartedly committed to the cause. Thanks to my team in Sofia, I was able to contribute to what is most needed in the field – transparency and responsibility towards society. I strongly hope that the people who take over the management of the Agency will continue the development of all that I am bequeathing. The figure of the social worker, who deserves respect and continuous positive evaluation for what he does, remains the most important for me. That will be the focus of my work here.
You are the person who first recognized the best social workers. What made you do it?
The best social workers from all over the country were honored at the ceremony organized by the Social Assistance Agency. This encouragement, as well as the smiles of the awardees on that day, made me optimistic about our field, because people work in it first and foremost. They understand the problems, empathize with them and do their best to help. In addition to social workers, we also awarded people with many years of contribution, who devoted their lives to social work, and also partners, without whom we cannot work successfully.
Your words clearly show the principle of teamwork that you apply in your work. How do you manage to work so well in a team?
With attitude, and the response on my last day as Director of the Agency showed that people appreciated it properly. To this day, I continue to receive messages from acquaintances and strangers who really make me happy and show me that it really meant something. It drives me to look ahead and keep doing my best.
