Many young Bulgarians leave their birthplace to look for a better life in the big cities or even abroad. The small town of Dryanovo situated in the Balkan Mountain Range makes no exception. It has been slowly depopulating and the people who live there are mainly elderly ones. According to data of the National Statistical Institute, the population of Dryanovo Municipality in 2011 amounted to nearly 9 700 and people aged twenty nine or under were only 2 300. When the state authorities fail to turn this negative trend, the ordinary people take this difficult task. In Dryanovo’s case some young enthusiasts from the “I Can” local society have rolled up their sleeves to turn their birthplace into a more attractive place for living. Along with the numerous initiatives aimed at creating a better image of their town, they have also started to work under a new project entitled IT Dryanovo. The young people are to launch in the beginning of the new school year a new class in partnership with the Maksim Raikovich Secondary School and some local businessmen where eight grade students will study IT and web design.

“Our idea was based on our desire to make children of Dryanovo learn something new and useful, because the unemployment is what makes young people leave the town”, explains Sasho from the "I Can Society". “Since we are unable to create jobs, the only thing we can actually do is teach them how to earn their living in Dryanovo themselves. Modern technologies have developed so quickly, that people can work from a distance, provided they have a good computer and Internet access. Our town provides such conditions, too. That is why we initiated this project. Our goal is to make young people acquire skills and competence, so they can later work and live in Dryanovo, without having to search for jobs somewhere else.”

The society’s members chose to launch an IT class, because most of them are IT experts themselves. Their profession allowed them to return to their birthplace and settle there. Moreover, the deficit of such personnel is huge and most forecasts show that in five years or so, the demand of IT experts will increase twice. Let alone the fact that the IT experts receive one of the highest wages in Bulgaria. Thanks to their personal contacts and acquaintances, the young people from the “I Can” Society managed to contact representatives of the IT sector and persuade them to find lecturers for the new IT class. Thus, as of September, 2014, one of the biggest software companies is to send IT developers to teach web design at the Maksim Raikovich Secondary School. “The students will only study the newest IT languages used by software companies at present, Sasho specifies. The company has also promised to employ some of the students who graduate successfully from the IT class in five years. Another IT company has granted EUR 2 000 for the purchase of new software.

“We give these children the opportunity to stay in Dryanovo. Otherwise they can not find jobs in this town. Unemployment is constantly rising. Most available job positions require low qualification. That is why the salaries are so low and people find it hard to live there. What we give these students is the opportunity to live a better life in Dryanovo, if they decide to join this class. After all, people are free to settle wherever they want,”  Sasho concludes.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov