Hi everyone

I have started an orphanage appeal to aid the homes in the Plovdiv region. I wanted to start it sometime ago, but I have only been able to a short time ago. Reading about everyone else who has started orphanage appeals in their own areas in Bulgaria has been really inspiring.

It all started after chatting with my mum about some clothes her friends daughter had passed on for Gabbi, but they were too small for her. My mum said she would take them to the local charity shop and I happened to mention how it was a shame we couldn’t give them to an orphanage. Well that was it, she thought it was a great idea and it has took off from there.

I started a Facebook group and within 2 days, had 15 bags of clothes and toys donated! I then created a website which is now up and running.

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We visited the local orphanage in Kalofer. A local Peace Corp volunteer, Jo, introduced us to the Director and staff, the meeting was a little sticky at first but they were just concerned about what our intentions were towards the home and children. They gave us a tour of the home, told what they needed most and I hope we hope to provide much of it after our next donations come over in April or May. By the end of the visit the Director and staff were really happy that we wanted to help them.

Yesterday, me and my friend Pauli went to the Baby orphanage in Plovdiv. I have just written about our visit and you can read about it below.

We are initially collecting unwanted clothing, shoes and household items which can be used in the homes and in the future will look at doing some fundraising and we are looking into the process of becoming a registered charity.

We were very kindly offered some space on a van coming to Bulgaria, so we could transport our first load of donations. I really can’t thank Dave Sharp enough for doing this for us, he’s a star!

The appeal is still in the very early stages, but the response I have had from friends, family and people I have never met has been incredible. Over the next year I hope to arrange fund raising days here in Bulgaria and also in the UK.

If anyone would like to donate to our appeal or has ideas about fundraising in our area, please contact me.

Thanks everyone

Charlie

This week has been fantastic. We received more offers of donations, offers of volunteer work, my previous dancing school have collected donation and are having an easter raffle to raise money AND a clothing company in Manchester has offered to donate a few boxes of clothing. What a fantastic week!

Our visit to Kalofer orphanage:

Myself, Chech and our friend Sarah arranged to meet Jo, a volunteer with the Peace Corp, who said we could join him on one of his weekly trips to Kalofer orphanage. We also met Sarah, another volunteer who is currently teaching at a school in one of the local villages. I told Jo that we actually thought that the home was closed as we could find no information. He said he wasn't surprised as the home is not that well known.

We drove up to the home which is located next to one of the schools in the town. The building is a typical Bulgarian old concrete building, the location is stunning, next to a beautiful pine forest and overlooking the town.

I admit that I was hoping I wouldn’t get overwhelmed by what we were going to see. We walk though the heavy metal doors and into the entrance, the floor is typical concrete flooring with a pattern through it, a little bit like the older schools in the UK. We are met by Madam Mustafova, who is organizing a couple of the children, she greets Jo and looks a little suspicious at these 3 strangers who have entered the building. Chech briefly tells her why we are there and she takes us to the office.

Jo (whose Bulgarian is excellent) and Chech explain to Madam Mustofova what we are trying to organise and would like a few details about the home and the children. At first she was very wary of us, even though I couldn’t understand everything that was being said, body language can say a lot. Jo said it may take some time to gain their trust. As Chech translated my words, she started to realize we were there to help, we told her about the donations, about the fund raising we plan to do, etc.

She told us that there are approximately 30 children, aged between 7 and 18 years old and they are in 2 groups. The first group are children with no parents, there are approximately 16 children and stay at the home full time. The second group are for children who have parents, but can not afford to look after them, so these children have the option to visit their families at the weekend and then return to the orphanage for the weekdays. As we visited the home on a Friday afternoon, many of the children had already gone to visit their family. She said they had a new child arriving that day.

We asked her, if you could make a list of what you most desperately need, what would be at the top of the list. Without hesitation, she said shoes! This became apparent as we saw some of the children. She also said that other items are clothes and underwear. She also said that what they are trying to encourage the children to do, is learn how to cook, but she said they do not have much in the way of utensils, pans, etc, so they are restricted as to what they can make. They also need plates, cutlery, cups, etc.

At this point, the Director of the home comes into the office, a hussle of activity. She says hello whilst dealing with her work. Chech explains to us that she has just brought the new girl who is going to live at the home. I then realized, that sat on the chair near the wall was a beautiful young girl, just sat staring into space, lost in thoughts and a million miles away, her big brown eyes lacking sparkle. At this point, Madam Mustafova introduced us to the Director and Chech again briefly explained why we were there, briefly what our plans were and how we had set up a website to help spread the word about our appeal. The Director didn’t look too happy and she told Chech that she did not want many details on the website and giving the home a bad name, she is very protective of the children and her staff. At this point, she left to take the young girl to her new room.

I had many thoughts going round my head, why would she think we were there to write about negative things …… but then we realized that after all the publicity regarding the BBC programme on another orphanage in Bulgaria, she was scared that the same would happen at their home. It made sense as to why she was concerned.

Madam Mustofova then started to tell Chech more about the home, which he translated for me and Sarah. The children are living 3 to one section, they have a bedroom, living/play room and a bathroom. At the moment they are having some improvements done to the home, which was wonderful news. A company in Sofia had offered to replace some of the windows and doors with double glazed PVC and with the weather we have just had (down to almost -20 at night!), the double glazing would have been welcome gift. She also told us about a project they have started for older children. They have made a self contained apartment within the home for the older teenagers, who don’t have long before they leave, to live more independently and learn how to look after themselves. They would like to make more in the future.

The Director then returned to the office and sat down with us all. Before anything else could be said, I asked Chech to translate for me. I asked him to tell her that we were not here to write bad things about the home, in fact we were there to help, to tell the people how well the children are looked after and how well the home is run with what little they have. This was apparent when children started coming into the office, with what looked like newly cut hair and cheeky grins on their faces. They were each handed a bag of crisps and off they went. Then 2 older girls popped their heads round the corner, saw all of us and tried to flee, giggling. The Director called them in and told them why we were there, they said thank you and made a swift, giggly, embarrassed exit!

We then asked the Director what other things are needed in the home besides what Madam Mustofova had told us. She told us first aid supplies, like plasters and bandages, antiseptic lotions and creams, cold remedies, etc. She also said that they are trying to get the children involved in sports activities but they have no equipment. They have a huge play room and it is empty. Jo tells us that they have a table tennis table, great I thought, but he said they have no ping pong balls or paddles/bats!! They also have a huge outdoor area but the children have nothing to play with, no swings, slides or sports equipment.

They do tell us that a Swiss lady used to visit the home quite a lot and still send them 100 leva per month so they can buy some food. We ask how do they afford to buy things they need. They tell us they get some funding from the Government but not much. They basically do the fund raising themselves and this how they buy some of the things they need, they don’t raise a lot, but even a little is better than nothing.

We are then told we can have a tour of the facility but we can not take any photographs. Madam Mustofova takes us upstairs. I notice a little boy grinning who is going up the next flight of stairs with Jo and Sarah, I say Zdrasti ( which means Hi) and he says, with a grin, “hello”, I laugh and as he turns the corner, he looks again, grins and say “hello”. There is a long corridor to the left and various large rooms to the right. There is a television room, we could see some benches and chairs, but a huge room with nothing else in it. She shows us the first of the living areas. A small hallway with a living room to the left, a bathroom in front and the bedroom to the right. The rooms a quite big and the beds have their own little area so the children are not crammed in. There are 3 old beds but nicely made with what I would say is summer bedding, but it is all they have. There is also a wardrobe. We see how they are falling apart but also how tall they are and are no use to the smaller children. She opens one door to show us and I see a dressing gown, a jumper, a pair of trousers and 1 pair of shoes. This is all for one child!

She takes us to the neighboring room which she invites us into but we see the same young girl who has just arrived, sat on the edge of the bed, just staring into space. I can’t imagine how lost and emotional she must feel, being brought to a new place full of strangers. We decide not to go into this room, we think she’s got enough to deal with without more strangers traipsing round her bedroom.

Madam Mustofova goes on to show us 3 similar rooms, all of which are being repaired. I notice that the flooring is thin linoleum and top of the concrete floor, very cold. One good thing about the rooms is that they are all south facing and sun pours in providing much needed heat, quite a contrast to the north facing corridor which is very cold. She then shows us a kitchen which the children use. A welcome sight is the washing machine, a small fridge freezer and a small cooker. There’s not much else though. The furniture is old, 2 tables with chairs, no utensils that I could see except for one pan on the cooker which is for making chips.

We then visit the self contained flat, home to the giggly teenage girls. They say we can come in then hurriedly go into their bedroom. They have a big living room, which hardly has any furniture, but in the bedroom, they have made it very homely. Rugs, beds, cuddly toys, TV, some tinsel to add a little bit of glam. On the other side they have a kitchen. They too have a washing machine, a small fridge and a very old cooker, but not much else.

We then ask about how much land is with the home and she says it is quite big. She says she will take us outside. I ask if it is ok to take photos of the outside of the building and she says no problem. It is a big area, there are some old climbing frames and swings, but only the carcasses remain.

We only met a few of the children today, they all seemed very friendly, the rapport between staff and the children seemed genuinely really good and they all seemed to be in good health. The staff are actively trying to improve the living conditions which is ongoing and a long process as work can only be done when they have the materials and funding. But it’s a start and maybe we can help them to continue the work they do. They are a family, for some of the children, it’s all they know. We saw what they need, what repairs are needed, what items they require, but we also saw big smiles and grins. I just hope that on our next trip, the young girl, new to the home, has found a little bit of hope and she too has a smile like the rest of the children.

We can help and we can make a difference!

Our visit to the Plovdiv Home for Babies - 13.03.2010

The day finally came when myself and Pauli visited the Home for orphaned and abandoned babies in Plovdiv.

Part of me was excited, but I confess that large part of me was very nervous, after reading stories about the conditions that some of the homes are in, I was wondering if I would be able to hold myself together!

We were met at the door by one of the nurses who took us to meet the Director, Dr. Kazandzhieva. A big smile greeted us and we were invited in to her office to start the meeting.

Dr. Kazandzhieva has only been the post 2 months. In the past she has worked for organizations, helping the children in Bulgaria and had some great advice and information to help us with our appeal. She is a genuinely nice lady, passionate about her work and dedicated to helping these children.

Firstly, she told us about the home and the children. This facility is the only home for babies and young children in Plovdiv and they receive children from the whole region of Plovdiv. Plovdiv is Bulgaria’s second largest city so this is an enormous task for one home. The home is more of a hospital as many of the children have illness and disabilities. Quite surprising to us was the number of children in the home, 108! The ages range from 0 – 5 1/2 years, although some children who have disabilities can stay up to the age of 7 years old. At the moment, the youngest baby they have is only 5 days old. A few of the toddlers attend a kindergarten outside of the home, also some of the babies and children are on the national list for adoption.

The smallest percentage of the children are healthy with the largest percentage having some form of mental or physical disability. Some of the problems that the children have are heart disorders, diabetes, renal problems, down syndrome, after surgery problems, blindness and deafness. Twelve of the children are bed ridden and have 24 hour care. After hearing all this, I got a lump in my throat and wondered if I could get through this!

The home itself is in a 4 storey building, but the fourth floor is not used in the winter.
The children are in 8 groups/departments of varying ages and each of these groups has their own staff ensuring excellent care for each baby and child. Babies are fed formula milk up to the age of 6 months and then they are fed yogurt, milk and other appropriate food for their age.

Dr. Kazandzhieva then talked about her staff. There are 3 qualified, specialist primary teachers, a psychologist, a social worker, nurses, day care staff and support staff.

They do have plans to re-organise the home to make the living conditions better for the children, but this is a plan to be executed over the next 10 years, as and when possible. They try to create a family environment, more homely for the children and also to help the children that are on the adoption list to adapt to family life when they find a new home. This is similar to what the Kalofer orphanage want to do, to make apartments within the home to help the older children adjust to life on their own, to help them to become more independent and fend for themselves once they leave at the age of 18 years.

We then talk about what they need. I asked her what is at the top of the list of items they need most desperately. This is the list:

Furniture – much of the furniture is old and falling apart. They need sets of cupboards and stacking cupboards, suitable for children.
Desperately needed are chairs for staff. As we saw later in our visit, the staff only have hard chairs with no support for feeding the babies. As many of you mothers and fathers out there know, when feeding a baby, how hard this can be on your body if you don’t sit correctly. The staff have pains in their backs and arms due to the lack of support. They would like chairs with padded seats, good back support and arm rests, similar to office chairs, but without wheels and don’t swivel.
Also tables and chairs for the staff where they take their coffee breaks. At the moment, they are sat on small children’s buffets and children’s plastic chairs!

At the moment, each of the 8 departments share one microwave and fridge which is not convenient when some of the departments are 2 floors up! Ideally, they would like to have facilities on each of the floors and for each department, including a small fridge and a microwave for each.

Other needs include:
Wooden toys including shape sorters and jigsaws
Plastic baths
Cloth table cloths
Rugs and carpet
Very large curtains and nets (each of the windows are a minimum of 2m x 5m).
Wall clocks
Bedding
CD player
CD’s – in both Bulgarian and English, nursery rhymes or similar
TV
Glass feeding bottles
Bibs – material only
Washing powder
Baby cosmetics – creams, wipes, etc.
Cot bumpers – as all the cots and play pens are metal.
Office stationary, files, etc, also cork notice boards for each department.
They have one play room which is desperate for redecoration, so we need to raise money for the paint and wage of the decorator.
Nappies – they can through a staggering 1,000 nappies every day!!!!

The home receives quite a lot of donations of clothes from local people and sometimes, they end up with too many clothes. At the moment, they mainly need clothing for the age of 1 year up to 5 years as they have plenty of newborn up to 12 months.

* Can I please stress at this point, we will still accept clothing up to 12 months old as there are other homes that do need clothes from this younger age group. Thank you. *

We then had a tour of the facility. We had to wear protective plastic shoe covers as they keep the home as sterile as possible due the health conditions of some of the children and we can only walk the corridors and look into the rooms for the same reasons.

The first 3 rooms did not register with me as I didn’t really look. I confess that I was scared at what I would see and the conditions of the rooms and children. Eventually I looked. I couldn’t have been more wrong about my feelings! The rooms have high ceilings with big windows, so are very light and not dreary. Dr. Kazandzhieva explains that they put paintings and art that the children and staff have made on the walls to make it more cheery. This is evident through out the corridors too. One thing that was surprising for both me and Pauli, were the number of staff. There were so many, the home was a buzz of activity. As my confidence grew, I peered through the windows more and the children peered back! Grinning and waving! Well that was it, I was in love with them all!
We saw the metal cots, some had cot bumpers, some without. Each room had a changing table and we could then see how much they needed new ones. The unit in most rooms consisted of a shelving unit on one side and drawers on the other, the top had a changing mat and a worktop. It was explained that some are too small, mainly for the toddlers who have disabilities. All the rooms are clean, tidy and well organized.

We are shown the sterilizing room and it is at this point I will explain a few things. The home comes under the Ministry of Health and they have strict health and safety guidelines to follow. All equipment has to be sterilized at a temperature more than 200 degrees, which makes some of our donations not suitable. Anything plastic would not survive the cleaning and sterilizing process, this is why most of the things they can accept have to be material based.

As we make our way down the corridor and up to the other levels, staff pass us and greet us with hello, friendly and happy, the atmosphere is fantastic, this home is filled with care and love, it was so great to experience this.

We see groups of toddlers in their play rooms, we wave, both the children and staff wave back, I just wanted to jump in and play games with them! The children seem genuinely happy and so well cared for, playful and cheeky, just how they should be! The rooms do have some play equipment and toys, but most need rugs and carpet as the floors are hard and tiled, not suitable for playing on or when the young ones are learning to walk.

We reach the top floor and there is a room which has not yet been decorated. There is also a roof terrace which they take the children up to in the summer and set up a paddling pool and play area. What they need here is a large umbrella as Bulgarian summers are hot and sunny.

Then it is time for giving the home the donations we have received so far. After the discussion with the Director earlier, we realize that not all the donations are suitable for the home. They hate to turn anything away from the kind people that donate and they have many items in storage, so I tell them anything that isn’t suitable for their home can be given to other homes and to not feel embarrassed about saying no. We want to help them the best way we can, as each home require different items, we would prefer them to take what they need at this moment in time. So on this visit, the donations made were 6 boxes of clothing, a moses basket, a table top changing mat and smaller mat, a selection of bedding, blankets, towels and bibs, cot bumpers, table cloths, 3 boxes of toys and various other smaller items. For this donation, we receive a receipt listing all that has been given and accepted.

Our visit is now at an end, we say our goodbyes and tell them we will see them soon!

Myself and Pauli decide that we need to sit and reflect on our visit before driving home, as we have so much information and images going through our minds. We discuss what we have seen, our thoughts and feelings, what our next step is and how we want to take all the children home with us! As parents ourselves, we had many emotions about our visit, the maternal feelings really kicking in. We were also partly glad we could not hold the babies or children as I doubt we would have been able to let go! But, it was also an eye opening experience. This home is run by a kind and warm lady who wants to give the children and staff the best home environment she can. Her staff are hard working and caring ladies, I believe these children couldn’t be in better hands.

So now it is our turn, although donations will go a long way, we really need to raise funds so we can purchase the items most desperately needed. I know we can help these children and the amazing people that care for them.

Welcome Charlie, you are doing a fantastic job Well done!!! If we can help in any way please let us know.

Oddy

Thanks Oddy, and I thank you too!!! Hopefully we cna all help each other out

Bravo Charlie, good on you!

Excellent nice to read yet another good story keep it well done

Hi Charlie

I have fantastic news for you I am able to offer you free space on a lorry, a friend has offered it to us but we cannot use it as our load has to go as one lot, so Dougie and I thought you would benefit. It is around 5 cub mts which is quite big.

If you are interested in this please let me know.

Life gets better by the day - God is most certainly looking after us and all his children.

Oddy

Wow, Oddy, thank you so much. I will be sending you a PM xxxx

I dont post vert often but some times you need to , thank god for peolpe like Charliehech and the one and only Oddballs

I second that

That's really nice of you to say so, thank you, but it's also down to soooooooooo many people, the people that donate, either items, money or their time, nothing would happen without everyone being so generous.

Well done to you Charliechech and well done to oddy your both to be respected

Guys we really appreciate your comments

Oddy