The Borisovs is a family of five from the village of Krainitsi, Bulgaria. Georgi is a bus driver, his wife, Mariana, works at a shoe factory. They live together with their son, Tony, who has been recently laid off, and daughter-in-law Kamelia, who looks after the baby, little Georgi.
The family desperately needed to install new doors and refresh internal walls and flooring in the house. Their home was cold and uncomfortable, especially in the winter. They could not use the living room as it was freezing. Kamelia’s room was also chilly and the baby could easily get sick.
Since the family’s income was modest, Gregori and 
Mariana could not apply for a bank loan. Then, they found out about Habitat and partnered through a Roma project. At the end of this summer, their home improvements were completed.
This renovation was very important for the family and brought positive changes. With the new windows they can save energy and pay less for the electricity. The house is warm, and Kamelia feels happy about the baby’s health during the cold months. The money they save goes for repayments into the fund that will eventually allow other Roma families to do similar home improvements.
Now that the Borisovs have sorted out the house, Georgi plans professional development of his son. He is training Tony to pass an examination for a bus driver. He also wants to enroll him into a training course through the EU program to tackle unemployment in Bulgaria.
Home improvement was the first step for the Borisovs. Now they are thinking about next steps to get out of their poverty situation. They want to raise little Georgi differently and give him proper education to qualify for a good job later. And it all started at home!
