On this blog we will discuss our work, the condition in the Bulgarian "orphanages" (which of course are not orphanages, because more than 95% of the children there are not orphans), the specific needs of the children and the institutions. The blog is open for everybody.
We are a Youth Work Project in England, Newcastle upon Tyne. We would like to visit Bulgaria and if possable come and visit one of your orphanages and experience the hard ship children suffer.
The young people from the North Benwell Youth Project would like to use the expereince as a tool to improve the life's of young people incare, in your Country and also in the UK.
I hope you are able to help us and conatct us on the above e-mail or this one with information on our possable visit, John Derisi, Project, Manager.
Please have a look on the webpage www.oporabg.com . Unfortunatly the informations there are only in Bulgarian and German, but if you are interested in getting more informations, you can always send me an e-mail: edith.moor@bluewin.ch
I am swiss and married to a Bulgarian, professionally I am working with people with special needs. Since I have understood the need of children and adults like in Mogilino- I have seen a few places all around Bulgaria- I started an initiative for the improuvment of new alternatives and a changement in the understanding of this human beeings. I foundet a BG-association and started with a conference at 2006. Since one year I am organising a 3-years seminar for staff and specialists ( even directors) of schools and homes for children and adults with mentaly handicapts. There are about 40 people from all around Bulgaria visiting this seminar and lecturers from many countries helping to find a new way of supporting, caering and healing. We are also helping the seminarists to go for practice time abroad.
Beside this seminar we have also started an initiative for an alternative socialtherapie-centre for young people after 18years. We are cooperating with a bulgarian family, whith a big organic farm, south of Sofia ( Dragodan). There we would like to live together and to integrate this young people slowly in the process of living a normal community-live and beeing integrated in working processes on the farm and in different workshops, as we know it of the model "Camphill".
I have started as a private initiative, but during the years I have a strong international team and a strong bulgarian team behind me. We have been sponsored by many friends and of big international foundations as well.
BUT, we still need more financial support- for instance to include a holyday time for home children during our next summer seminar and practicing a new way of supporting them- learning by doing!
We also need more support for building up our socialtherapy-center in Dragodan and we need people, liking to help us there with building up the place, with experiences in socialtherapy and bio-dynamic agriculture- together with Bulgarians, of course.
Please help us- the Baba-programm is not the best and only way of changing this system, we definitly should try to help with new alternatives and ways of looking at the people with special needs in Bulgaria.
This documentary left me very sad and not because I feel this is a special case. It made me feel that I really wanted to do something practical to help these kids. I have been contacting organisations inlucindg TBACT (the bulgarias abandoned children), Unicef, Bulgarian Consulate in Australia and can confirm that Mogilino Orphanage has not been closed and many of the children are still there. The reasons are simple, they are trying to find alternative accomodation for children but not all of them will be adopted and new homes have not yet been built. Siobhain from TBACT told me that they will fight for these children and will not allow them to be sent to another place until they are satisfied that the new place is better than Mogilino.
Vasky
I was highly touched by a girl who I thought was 8 or 9 and she turned out to be 18! Yes, it is Vasky. She was born blind but with no other medical condition and entered Mogilino as a baby. After 18 years of unimagineable neglet and loneliness, she now is bed ridden and has osteoporosis (bones of 60 year old woman). My first concern was that due to her condition: 1. blind 2. bed ridden 3. osteoporsis 4. malnutrition 5. most likely other medical conditions She has very little chance of being adopted or will be able to lead an independent life. The place she is highly likely to end up is an adult institution which are even worse than children institutions from what I have been told.
I therefore began my investigations regarding how to help Vasky. After nearly three weeks of daily emails and phone calls, I now know that some of her medical needs are already being looked after. However, apart from her physical conditions I feel that her psychological wellbeing is paramount. Just think, she never had anybody in the world that truly cared for her or loved her as a child. I wanted to be able to keep contact with her in a form of letters etc but this is not so easy for numerous reasons.
However, Siobhain from TBACT advised me that they are looking into Baba services which allocate people (locals, usually retired seniors) which have continuous contact and vistis one child on a regular basis to provide a stable companionship/friendship for that child. I thought this would be one of the best things that Vasky could ever have.
My plea
I think that there are likeminded people who are interested in helping these kids. I want to get a group of people who are interested in providing help, even if very small, for instance get together to pay for at least one Baba. A Baba for a child costs about 100 euros per month and Siobhain from TBACT (www.tbact.org) suggested that she can make our donations go directly to sponsor a Baba for a child or children. If anyone is interested, please email me at
there's very littlle bulgarian spoken in the film, and if what has been translated was translated this poorly, only can only wonder how the translation was through which kate's had to understand what was going on....
The round table last night was a success. We would like to thank all participants and especially Kate Blewett, Katie Burningham , Anna Tylor , Claire Power-Brown, Ivan Vachkov, Iva Ruicheva and all the others who made such valuable contribution to our discussion. Special thanks to the Bulgarian City Club for co-organising and supporting financially the event. We are planning now to create a follow-up discussion group but in the meantime please share your ideas, while they are fresh after the round table, here on this blog.
The following is a recent article by Belgian journalist Chris Dusauchoit.
Mogilino in real
I don't want to create the impression that the only thing I can still talk about is the orphanage of Mogilino, but I do have to get it off my chest. We drive to the place in the mist and in the snow. At first we drive a couple of times in the wrong direction until we finally get stuck. Mayby it -the building- doesn't want us to come? We have to drive down the mountain in reverse gear and have to take another road which turns out to be the wrong one again. While trying to hide our nervousness, we laugh along the way. We fear the place. It's already dark when we get there. The entrance hall is crowded with showy people, local politicians, I think, and the management of the orphanage, but also a lot of photographers, cameramen, people making notes. A Bulgarian journalist recognizes me and wants to interview me. She congratulates me and I really don't know if she means it, maybe she's angry with me. I don't want to talk to the press. First of all I want to see the children. My heart is beating in my throat as I enter the first room. In the corner on the right-hand side a young child is sitting in a wheelchair, a few children are dancing. The management has obviously done its best to give the impression that there're having a party here every day. I recognize Didi, she's excited and she's smiling. She's wearing an apron and she's frenetically holding a new handbag against her body. Her shining appearance discloses even more that she doesn't belong here. In another room I notice Stoyan, swinging in an old chair. I want to take his hand but he pushes me away. We go upstairs into a room with a dazzling neon light and we meet those children who never leave their beds: a deformed child and a child suffering from the Down Syndrome. When I tickle him, he's crowing with pleasure while I fight my tears. An older boy, lying with his head against the metal bars of his bed, still, is looking right into my eyes. My heart is freezing. Another child is loudly moaning. The smell of urine and slow dead is all around me. I ask for Vasky. A few of us go to another building. She's sitting at a small table in her pyjamas, skinny with no expression whatsoever on her beautiful face. I talk to her and she brightens up a little bit. She wants some candy and I haven't got any. Shit. In a high voice she tells me that her broken leg doesn't hurt anymore and that she wants to go outside. I suggest to take her outside under my coat or wrap her in a blanket. It is not allowed. Instead they put her in a buggy and drive her to the room next-door. They drive her back into the first room and they finally put her back in her chair. In the adjoining darkened bathroom three children are sitting on their potty. I recognize the boy who's sitting with his head towards the bath. He doesn't move. I don't dare to think how long he has been sitting there on his own. Next to the radiator I see two little girls sitting motionless next to eachother. I touch a little hand with my finger, the little hand opens and her fingers grab mine. I caress her head. It is more than I can take. I run outside. I cannot take it anymore and with my back leaning against the wall I start sobbing. I'll never be the same again. I never want to be the same again.
I would very much appreciate updates on how some of the children in Kate Blewett's film are doing, in particular, Didi, Stoyan and poor little Vasky (unfortunately, these are the only names that I can remember). I hope every single one of them is starting to receive the treatment they deserve and although this film was very harrowing, it has raised the profile of Bulgaria's social care problems. Let's all hope this is the beginning of the future for anyone in this dreadful situation.
While we were thinking about some grand opening of our blog, I got the following email from Nigel Middlemiss , or long term enthusiastic supporter:
Julian You'll be aware I'm sure that in 1994 Friends of Bulgaria (Ealing) raised £2000+ for Mogilino through public collections and a concert at St Dunstan's church, W3, and again in 2004 with another concert, at the Bulgarian embassy. I visited Mogilino in 1997, while in Bulgaria on other business for the European Bank. You might like to indicate on the FOB website that we have therefore, in a very small way, improved the lot of the children there as part of our many other charitable activities in Bulgaria. The donations went towards fuel oil for their central heating and cooking needs (2003) and food (2004). Regards Nigel
We are updating now our website and we haven't described all the past projects. Well, while we are waiting, at least the blog could mention our work in Mogilino. Things however have changed a lot. While 10 years ago there was desperate need for fuel, food and other basic support, now, when Bulgaria is a member of EU and has enjoyed a decade strong economic growth, there is no excuse to have Mogilino not much changed. We should focus our work on supporting a more radical change of the whole system of care for disabled children in Bulgaria.
of Bulgaria (Ealing) raised £2000+ for Mogilino through public collections and a concert at St Dunstan's church, W3, and again in 2004 with another concert, at the Bulgarian embassy. I visited Mogilino in 1997, while in Bulgaria on other business for the European Bank. You might like to indicate on the FOB website that we have therefore, in a very small way, improved the lot of the children there as part of our many other charitable activities in Bulgaria. The donations went towards fuel oil for their central heating and cooking needs (2003) and food (2004). 