There are nearly 5,300 children in Bulgaria living in asylums. Some of them were accommodated there right after their birth, others after they were abandoned by their parents at a later stage of their lives or due to the fact that their parents were deprived of parental rights. No matter the reason, the reality of all children living without a family seems harsh enough. They can not enjoy a mother’s smile or rely on the support of their fathers. The children from the Bulgarian asylums grow in isolation and are quite unprepared for life outside these social homes. One of the main priorities of the Bulgarian Ministry of Social Policy and Labor regards gradual closure of these homes. The future alternative of the Bulgarian asylums are adoption and the SOS children’s villages. There are two SOS villages in Bulgaria-one in the town of Tryavna and one in the village of Dren. There are a total of 25 family houses in these two villages where parents look after children deprived of the care of their biological parents. An average of 5-6 children, usually brothers and sisters, are raised by SOS parents in each one of these houses. All children who live there go to schools and kindergartens in the respective village or town and are well- integrated into the natural children environment and the local community. “SOS children’s villages allow these children to grow in a real family and environment full of love, security and confidence. In these children’s villages we take care of children deprived of parental care, regardless of their race, gender, language, ethnic or social origin”, says Ivan Hristoforov who is a director of the SOS children’s village in the town of Tryavna (Central North Bulgaria) and adds:
“The SOS children’s village national association was established in Bulgaria in 1991. It started with the construction of the children’s village in Tryavna which opened in 1993. This year we mark the 20th anniversary since the launching of this village. We took care of many children over the years. Some of them are adults now and deal with life on their own. In 1995, two years after the establishment of the first SOS village, the children’s village in Dren was opened. Twenty years ago there were nearly 10 thousand abandoned children in various institutions. SOS children’s village is a non-governmental organization which actually works for the well-being of children deprived of the care of their own biological family.”
The organization is a partner of the Foster Care national project which promotes adoption in Bulgaria.
“The advantage of the SOS children’s village is linked with the fact that we provide full support to the foster families”, contends Ivan Hristoforov. Thus, we help them cope with problems regarding the raising of these children as we all know that most of the kids who are accommodated in the foster families in SOS Kinderdorf have problems regarding their growth and development. This is why we use the support of experts: psychologists, social workers and speech therapists. It gives us the opportunity to create many good partnerships both with the state institutions and with colleagues from other non-governmental organizations. Being an NGO, we mainly count on receiving finances from contributors. One of our latest projects is the campaign entitled “They will change your future, if you change theirs”. It started in the beginning of September and will end by mid October. The project aims at raising funds to help the education of parentless children.”
Both SOS children’s villages in Bulgaria provide opportunities and environment for development of various skills of these children through workshops for applied arts, vocal groups for authentic folklore, choirs, musical schools for various instruments, schools of modern and sports dances, football, basketball and athletics training, martial arts, table tennis, chess, etc. Are these children’s villages supported by the Bulgarian society? Are Bulgarian people interested in such causes?
“The culture of the Bulgarian contributor has been improving over the recent years”, says Ivan Hrsitoforov. “People realized that when they grant money to organizations similar to ours, they provide direct help to the needy children. We do not participate in projects which end within one or two years only. We have had our firm presence in the social sphere for the past 23 years and people already see that their money is used the right way. The Bulgarian and the international grantors have the opportunity to constantly follow the route of their money. The Bulgarian society knows well the model established by the SOS children’s villages and estimates it highly due to the high quality of the social services we provide”, concludes Ivan Hristoforov.
English version: Kostadin Atanasov
По публикацията работи: Diana Hristakieva
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