"Bulgaria: Orphans Suffer Dire Neglect", article in Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty News, November 9, 1997

Source:

Bulgaria: Orphans Suffer Dire Neglect, article written by Anthony Georgieff for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty News, 9 November, 1997

https://www.rferl.org/a/1087213.html

The article:

Fakiya, Bulgaria, 14 November 1997 (RFE/RL) - - The Fakiya Foster Home for Disabled Children is secluded in the remote southeastern Bulgarian village of Fakiya, 10 km from Turkey.

In the social and economic calamity that is ravaging Bulgarians, among the most unfortunate and neglected are the 50 institutionalized, parentless children aged 3 to 10 of the foster home in Fakiya. Most are handicapped. Many cannot eat or walk and need to be fed through tubes or require other special care.

On a recent visit to the Fakiya home, RFE/RL found the home's drab interior stinking of urine and spoiled food, its small residents without medicines, underfed, lacking sheets and sometimes naked.

The home stands on the edge of the small and decrepit village. The home's director, Vesselin Todorov, a former schoolteacher, said the villagers pay little attention to the home and try to avoid it because of the stigma associated with its inmates. The home's personnel comprises three nurses and 17 cleaners. There is no doctor save for the village medic, who does not have a legal obligation to attend to the children. In Director Todorov's words: "The children need medical treatment every day, but we can afford to take them to Bourgas (60 km away) once a month."

The biggest benefactor of the Home in Fakiya is the Dutch Red Cross, whose contributions helped build a bathroom and a kitchen. The Dutch last year sent six nurses, who stayed two months each. They were appalled. As Todorov put it: "They said they'd never seen anything like this before."

But the Dutch assistance ended. The orphanage receives small private donations, including the equivalent of $58 a month from a donor in Bourgas who came into some property in the post-communist restitution.

Todorov says that a child dies every two months at the Fakiya home. But a psychiatrist in Bourgas who sometimes works for the social services -- and does not want her name disclosed -- says the Fakiya home has a vacant bed every two weeks.

Todorov put his despair in these words: "In Bulgaria, whoever is weak, down and out is being forced by the society and the system to stay there."

In Sofia, Prime Minister Ivan Kostov told RFE/RL that his right-of-center government intends to increase assistance to the needy.

But the nationwide economic crisis leaves little room for hope for the children of Fakiya. Official statistics place 90 percent of Bulgarians below the poverty line, with monthly incomes below $20. Bulgaria's government doesn't have a precise count of the number of children who live in foster homes.

"'20/20' Inside Romanian Orphanages", article in The Washington Post, dated October 5, 1990

Source:

"'20/20' Inside Romanian Orphanages", article written by Mary Battiata for The Washington Post, 5 October 1990

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1990/10/05/2020-inside-romanian-orphanages/a3500283-4e5e-49a4-981a-c551a7926388/

The article:

'20/20' Inside Romanian Orphanages

By Mary Battiata

October 5, 1990

Tonight's ABC "20/20" report on Romania's abandoned children is powerful and disturbing, and it is sure to send distraught viewers rushing for their checkbooks or even their passports in hope of rescuing the thousands of children who are prisoners of Romania's hellish state orphanage system.

Certainly, ABC correspondent Tom Jarriel looks increasingly desperate as he and a team of cameramen, guides and American pediatrician take a grim walk through the state-run Homes for the Deficient and Unsalvageable. Foreign relief workers accurately describe these "homes" as death camps. At one point in their six-day tour, Jarriel's guide, a Romanian exile living in Boston, crumples in tears.

The camera, however, is unflinching. It shows naked, underfed children sitting ankle deep in their own urine; scabrous children herded like pigs to "bathe" in filthy troughs of black water; infants starving to death because of treatable conditions such as cerebral palsy and even anemia.

The scandal of these orphanages, where by some estimates as many [as] 40,000 children live, came to light earlier this year, but the "20/20" program, at 10 p.m. on Channel 7, drives home the point that little has changed for these children nine months after the toppling of executed Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu [sic]. Jarriel and producer Janice Tomlin break new ground, forcing their way into seldom-visited basement wards where sick children and infants are stored in near darkness until they die.

While many children in the homes show signs of neurological or mental disorders, the report finds numerous wrenching examples of children who appear to have no medical disorders at all. One bright-eyed girl misdiagnosed as mentally defective blossoms into a cheerful, bright and affectionate little girl within one week after being adopted by an American couple.

The people who run these institutions have little to say in defense of themselves. In two of the state homes Jarriel visited on his six-day tour, the poorly educated and almost certainly corrupt directors have hoarded donated stores of clothing and medicine instead of distributing them to the children.

"People working in places like these become like animals themselves," is one official's mumbling attempt to explain himself.

There are two bright spots in this report and they are Jarriel's traveling companions, American pediatrician Barbara Bascom and Romanian exile Ion Berendei, part of the stubborn crew of international relief workers in Romania. Bascom has sold her house in Baltimore to spend three years helping children in Romania. Berendei, an architect who recently returned to Romania after 20 years, has set up a Boston-based Free Romania Foundation to send doctors and teachers there.

But overall, as Jarriel makes clear, the prognosis for the children is bleak. Senior government officials in Bucharest still do not appear to regard the children's plight as an urgent priority.

ABC says a recent companion report on adopting Romanian children generated more viewer response than any "20/20" segment. Given the level of public concern this show is to generate, perhaps the report's only shortcoming is that it doesn't explain to its American audience how futile it is for an individual to try to mail packages of food, clothing or medical supplies directly to orphanages and hospitals in Romania.

The hard facts of the post-Ceausescu era are that much of the money and medical supplies donated by individuals and even governments to these Romanian institutions has been stolen or misused. International relief agencies have a better track record, but even they struggle to control who gets the aid and how.

Concerned Romanians in and outside the country say the best hope at gaining the attention and cooperation of Romania's new government may be to insist that U.S. economic and humanitarian aid to Romania be conditioned on speedy dismantling of this abysmal system.

"Behind closed doors", article in NBC News, dated August 29, 2008

Source:

"Behind closed doors", article written by Tim Sandler for NBC News, 29 August 2008

https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna26227040

The article:

Behind closed doors

Reporter's Notebook: In the course of a yearlong Dateline investigation, we gained unprecedented access to institutions across Serbia and found alarming, sometimes life-threatening, conditions. Adults and children - some with only mild symptoms of Down syndrome or cerebral palsy - were crammed into fetid rooms and metal cribs, their bodies often emaciated, atrophied or disfigured.

Aug. 29, 2009. 3:54 PM PDT / Source: NBC News

By Tim Sandler, NBC News Producer

As the geopolitical struggle over the independence of Kosovo from Serbia continues, with war never far from the minds of many, there is an unseen class of people in Serbia whose lives are at risk regardless of the outcome.

They are the estimated 17,000 mentally disabled children and adults who for decades have been systematically warehoused in remote, government-run mental institutions. They are facilities that are unknown to most Serbs, let alone the rest of the world — and perhaps for good reason.

In the course of a yearlong investigation, we gained unprecedented access to institutions across Serbia and found alarming, sometimes life-threatening, conditions. Adults and children - some with only mild symptoms of Down syndrome or cerebral palsy - were crammed into fetid rooms and metal cribs, their bodies often emaciated, atrophied or disfigured. Some had been confined to cribs for years, their bodies conforming to the small space inside the railings.

In some cases, residents who appeared to be children were actually young adults, whose growth had been stunted by years of institutionalization, a telltale sign of extreme neglect, experts say. ...

But perhaps our most disturbing discovery came after staying overnight at one of Serbia's most overcrowded institutions, in rural Kulina. There, tucked away in the woods, we saw first-hand how children are routinely tied to their bed railings for long stretches of time. It's a widespread practice in Serbia, according to Laurie Ahern, associate director of Mental Disability Rights International (MDRI). The Washington-based group has been investigating conditions in Serbia's mental institutions for four years.

"People are just prisoners in these cribs, in these beds," Ahern says. "We found people being tied up not for ten minutes, but hours. Four, five, six hours — and day after day after day."

The institutions' rationale for tying down children, Ahern says, is a lack of staff and resources. And without being exposed to any meaningful stimulation, many of the children are prone to hurting themselves when they're unattended. "They are hitting themselves. They are biting themselves. I've seen children gouge out their eyes, rip off pieces of their ears, punch themselves till they're black and blue."

'Children need human touch'

We saw a disturbing example during our overnight stay at the Kulina institute, where a young boy, maybe 12 years old (though it's tough to tell), was punching his ears so hard that they bled. His metal crib rattled with each blow.

There is a simple biological explanation for this kind of self-abuse, Ahern explains. "Children need touch. Children need human touch. Food isn't enough. A child needs stimulation, a child needs love, a child needs to be touched. And when they're not they would rather feel pain than feel nothing."

It's a gruesome cycle: isolation to self-abuse leading to restraint and more isolation.

The horrors of life inside these institutions are chronicled in MDRI's recent report, Torment not Treatment: Serbia's Segregation and Abuse of Children and Adults with Disabilities. What sets Serbia apart from the way most other governments treat the mentally disabled, MDRI notes, is the shear [sic] number of children and adults who are tied up. Under international law, the group argues, the practice fits the legal definition of torture.

"Tying a child and leaving them indefinitely in a crib, tied in a crib, is inhumane and degrading treatment and torture," Ahern says.

A culture of shame

Serbia was once a part of the former Yugoslavia, which began breaking apart in 1991. The mental institutions are remnants of the country's communist past and symbols of a deeply ingrained prejudice against the mentally disabled and their families.

It's a culture of shame that has changed little from one generation to another. Serbia's medical establishment continues to advise parents to put their mentally disabled newborns into institutions, and the government provides virtually no support for those who choose not to. As a result, parents are left with an agonizing choice: Keep their children at home and face financial ruin or give them up to live out their days in government-run institutions. Few families know about the severe conditions in most facilities.

Once parents make this fateful decision, Ahern says, a disabled child's fate is sealed.

"These children are there for life," she says. "Once you get into an institution, unless you're lucky enough to have someone come and take you out, you're there for life."

The staff in these institutions, overworked and underpaid, told us that families rarely visit. Professional training for the attendants is rare. Even so, many do what they can to add a modicum of meaning to the children's lives. Attendants at the Kulina institution, for instance, told us that on holidays and birthdays they sometimes call the more aware children and, posing as their mothers, offer words of comfort.

One dedicated and highly frustrated director of an adult institution in the town of Kovin, Dr. Milan Milic, risked government retribution by showing us what he acknowledged were "inhumane" living conditions at his facility. Hundreds of residents are crowded into crumbling, moldy buildings constructed in 1912. To compensate for lack of treatment, he says, patients are given higher doses of sedatives and other medications.

"I don't want to continue this way," he said as he guided us through the decrepit buildings, where the smell of urine and cigarette smoke can be overwhelming.

Feeling the pressure

The government is being called to account for these conditions. Though MDRI credits the Serbian government for adopting progressive policy goals for caring for the mentally disabled, its report states that "actual practice violates Serbia's own law and policy on a large scale." It concludes: "The government of Serbia has no plan or program to end the improper detention of thousands of people with disabilities - or to end the abusive treatment within its institutions."

A handful of groups in Belgrade are trying to make changes in the way the government and Serb society treats the mentally disabled. Among them is a group called Familia, which is advancing the idea of foster care replacing institutions for mentally disabled children. There's good reason. Evidence clearly shows that disabled children improve dramatically when they are taken out of institutions and placed with families. But, says Familia's Dr. Maida Stefanovic, the foster family concept is still foreign to Serb society.

When we sat down in Belgrade to interview the Serbian Minister of Labour and Social Policy, Rasim Ljajic, he was new to the job and said he had not yet visited the institutions. When we showed him a video of a child tied up and others, bone thin, left alone [in] cribs, he didn't attempt to defend the practices.

"These conditions are far from humane, far from humane," he said through a translator. "Well below any acceptable level. Our general policy is to close down institutions like the ones you visited. They should not be existing."

He told us that his office is working with rights advocates to develop ways to assist families in need but that the Serbian government lacks the necessary resources to fundamentally change the system. That, he said grimly, could take years.

But mental disability advocates like Ahern don't accept a lack of resources as a reasonable excuse when it comes to protecting mentally disabled adults and children.

"Lack of money is not a reason not to protect a person's human rights," she said. "The state has an obligation. They took those children. It's not like those children can walk out and leave. They're prisoners in those institutions and the state is responsible for what they're doing to people."

Update on a new minibus being donated for the children at Mogilino, dated January 7, 2008

Source:

The Bulgarian Abandoned Children's Trust via the Wayback Machine, webcapture dated 4 January, 2008

https://web.archive.org/web/20081004175609/http://www.tbact.org/8a5f5f0162da49f899a0d4937b30db11.htm

The update:

Thanks to the generosity of our donors we have been able to provide a new minibus for the children at Mogilino social care home.

The new vehicle arrived just before the heavy snows and will be adapted to fit a wheelchair lift at the rear to ensure the children are transported as safety [sic] and comfortably as possible.

The existing minibuses that the home used were both over 25 years old and at least one urgently needed replacement if the children were to continue accessing the local services and amenities that they need, most of which are located in the town of Ruse - about an hour’s drive from Mogilino.

The new vehicle was sourced in Sofia and comes with a full service history.

Update on the situation and children at Mogilino, dated December 4, 2007

Source:

The Bulgarian Abandoned Children's Trust via the Wayback Machine, webcapture dated 13 December, 2007

https://web.archive.org/web/20071213005231/http://www.tbact.org/root.aspx?pointerid=8005e045b49a49a9a6374c1940f8ae83

The update:

Many, many thanks to all of you who have registered as supporters of our campaign. We have had a fantastic response and it has taken us some time to respond to the huge number of emails we have recieved [sic]. Please find below a summary of the latest news:

Following the controversy that ‘Bulgaria’s Abandoned Children’ has stirred in the UK and Bulgaria, direct action has been taken to improve the immediate care of the children at Mogilino to ensure that they receive improved standards of nutrition, exercise and therapy.

An alliance of key organisations has been formed to put in place the immediate recovery plan whilst long term care options are resolved for the children. Unicef is leading this alliance and we are supporting their efforts.

The first stages of the plan have been undertaken. Each child at Mogilino has been assessed so that individual rehabilitation programmes can be put into place to ensure they have the suitable levels of therapy and care that they need. These programmes are starting to be implemented and speech therapists, occupational therapists and physiotherapists are starting to work with the children. More therapists will be needed in future months.

The children's diet, which was an area of great concern to so many of us, is now being greatly improved. A paediatrician assessed the children in early November and judged one third of them to be malnourished and dehydrated and as a result some of the children were hospitalised. Nutritional supplements continue to be given to the children and the new local major [sic] is providing an additional 4000 lev to the food budget. Some local companies have also made food donations. Menu plans have been developed and it is now felt the children are receiving enough food including fresh fruit and their general diet has improved.

The kitchen and hygiene standards at the Institute were considered unsatisfactory and local health services have been called in to improve this.

The Director of the Institute resigned in mid November.

The manager of the specialist care work at the institute is being handled by two Unicef representatives.

The care staff are still in place and are receiving supervision.

The new Mayor has arranged for a house in the village to be available for the Unicef team to live in whilst they carry out their work at Mogilino.

Some specific information about the children

Didi is still at Mogilino and is not showing any signs of improvement yet. However a team of Bulgarian lawyers have taken on her case to argue that Didi has been arbitrarily detained. This is critical to any long term plans for her.

Stoyan was hospitalised and has had an operation to help him to digest and absorb his food.

Vasky was also hospitalised. She has now been discharged and is back at Mogilino. Her rehabilitation programme has begun.

Milen is at the Protected Home he was sent to after the abuse he suffered at Mogilino and is doing really, really well. We will continue to monitor the situation at Mogilino and report to all our supporters on a regular basis.

We continue to campaign for political pressure and can announce today there will be a meeting at the European Parliament in Brussels in the new year.

A number of MEPs have been firing in Parliamentary Questions about the subject since the documentary was first aired on the BBC and many constituent letters have been generated by the film.

In the light of that Kate Blewett has been invited to show the film in the European Parliament, before which there will be a hearing on the whole area of the state of care in the Bulgarian mental health sector. This meeting will be taking place on the afternoon of the 4th March 2008.

Kind regards and thank you again for your support

News report on the showing of the documentary film "Bulgaria's Abandoned Children" at its premiere in Sofia, dated November 12, 2007

Source:

The Bulgarian Abandoned Children's Trust via the Wayback Machine, webcapture dated 4 January, 2008

https://web.archive.org/web/20081004173220/http://www.tbact.org/38cb85baf41e4b69a638031a16258efe.htm

The article:

Demand for reform grows as Bulgaria's Abandoned Children is shown in Sofia for the first time.

12/11/2007

The furore that was raised following the broadcast of Kate Blewett's documentary Bulgaria's Abandoned Children on BBC4 in the UK shows no signs of dissipating in Bulgaria.

A screening of a shortened version of the film was held at The Red House Centre for Culture and Debate in Sofia on the evening of 6th November. This screening was the first time the film has been shown in Bulgaria.

Attendance far exceeded the Centre's normal seating capacity of 200 people and estimates suggest over 350 people were there. Six government ministers, the US ambassador John Beyrle and the former Bulgarian foreign affairs minister Ivan Stancioff as well as many representatives from NGO's working in Bulgaria were also present.

Kate Blewett was overwhelmed by the audience's response: 'At the end of the film there was total silence. No sound except crying. No one moved. The lights went on and then the audience clapped - with a number of people standing up to clap. It was very moving[.]'

A lively discussion on the topic of 'What Is Being Done, What to Do, and How' followed the film and the panel included Kate Blewett, Labour and Social Policy Minister Ivanka Hristova, Director of the State Agency for Child Protection Shirin Mestan, Director of the Social Welfare Agency Gergana Dryanska, Assen Petrov from the Education Ministry, Rossitsa Boukova from Bulgarian Mothers Movement and Slavka Kukova from the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee.

Kate Blewett began the debate by expressing the wish that each child should have a loving family home, to which Minister Hristova concurred, and explained that the Labour and Social Policy Minister had written to each of the families with a child at the social care home in Mogilino, explaining the process of closing down remote institutes and the overall "de-institutionalisation" of such places, suggesting that the parents become involved with their children's fates. Only one family agreed; there are more than 65 children living in the former schoolhouse in Mogilino.

Kate Blewett's response, echoed by the overflowing hall, was that the closing down of Mogilino was not necessarily the best option, because the children would just be sent elsewhere, which does not always equate better care. She asked: "If there are better places for these children to go, why weren't they moved before?" To which she added that this should be accompanied by records of where they are then sent.

Stating that she would only say what the State Agency for Child Protection had done, and not what [it] was going to do, Shirin Mestan said that a plan had been worked out for the closing of Mogilino, and that it was to be implemented shortly, but then the film happened and all the uproar precluded any action. "We found there to be great wrongs against humanity in the home," she said but added that Mogilino did not represent the condition of children's social care homes in Bulgaria as a whole.

Countering this, Kate Blewett said that anyone could surf the internet and find plenty of others’ experiences of social care homes in Bulgaria to know that Mogilino was not a place a part. She again called for the level of care towards the children to change.

Rossitsa Boukova recalling that the first cry against Mogilino had come in 1999, when it was listed for shut-down. "Why did it have to come to this (a foreign film) for the situation to be noticed?" she asked. She said that people need to recognise their mistakes and be willing to leave their positions.

Whilst no conclusions were reached at the event, The Campaign for Bulgaria’s Abandoned Children is pleased to see that awareness and protest is gaining momentum in Bulgaria.

Deputy Michael Kennedy's speech for the Adjournment Debate on Foreign Orphanages in Ireland's Dáil Debates, with Minister Seán Haughey's reply, November 20, 2007

Source:

https://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2007-11-20.361.0

Deputy Kennedy's speech:

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to speak on this topic concerning orphanages in Bulgaria. Although not immediately significant to this Parliament, this is an incredibly important and tragic issue which requires the greatest possible airing.

Some Deputies may have seen a BBC documentary on Sunday entitled "Bulgaria's Abandoned Children". It was made by film-maker Kate Blewett who last year visited the Mogilino social care home to investigate the conditions in which the children are kept. I am not exaggerating when I say that this is one of the most disturbing programmes I have ever seen. The circumstances shown in the film appear to be replicated throughout Bulgaria and I understand similar conditions obtain in at least 11 other orphanages.

I bring the issue to the attention of the House to ask what we can do. I cannot sit idly by without trying to publicise this issue. There are 75 children living at Mogilino, ranging from toddlers to teenagers approaching their 20s. Many have been abandoned to the orphanage because they have severe mental disabilities with which their parents simply could not cope. Others are affected by mild and treatable cases of cerebral palsy. Some were blind or deaf when they entered the orphanage. Many of the children at Mogilino cannot speak and they are neither taught nor spoken to. They cannot interact with each other or their carers whose job does not appear to extend beyond washing and feeding the children. It is clear that not much caring takes place.

The children are considered incapable of being educated and receive no treatment for their disabilities. While they are diagnosed on admission to the facility, their diagnoses are not re-evaluated at any point during their lengthy stay. Even the children with the mildest forms of disability degenerate quickly. They rock endlessly in chairs, bereft of any mental stimulation, and many are heavily sedated. They all appear to be malnourished and many sit on potties all day because it is easier for their carers to leave them in this position. Their limbs resemble those of children in famine-torn African countries.

One 18 year old girl who broke her leg was filmed lying curled up in a ball in bed. Her condition was not noticed until the television crew asked her what her problem was and only then did she received [sic] medical attention. Another child, a young boy, walked only when led by the hand by a carer. If the carer moved away from him, he stood motionless until the carer returned.

An 18 year old girl named Didi who has mild cerebral palsy initially writes letters to her mother but these were never posted. She also interacted with the television crew in a typically lively teenage fashion. However, when the television crew returned eight months after initially meeting her, she had become a mute child who had adopted the rocking motion practised by all the other children. I was equally concerned by a scene in the programme where two male carers supervised a group of adolescent women, many of whom were fully developed physically, as they showered. This occurred in a home staffed almost entirely by females.

It is not an exaggeration to say that domestic animals are treated better than the unfortunate boys and girls in the Mogilino home who are condemned to rock silently while they slowly waste away in mind and body. Nothing on television this year has brought me closer to tears.

What can Ireland do about this case? How has Europe permitted this to happen while allowing Bulgaria to enter the European Union? Will we turn away from this pain and suffering? I hope not. We all remember watching similar scenes from Romania 20 years ago. The scenes I describe are taking place in 2007 in Bulgaria, a member state of the European Union. I ask the Government to take action in this matter. It should contact Ms. Kate Blewett who is setting up a charity known as Bulgaria's abandoned children's trust to campaign for immediate changes to address the plight of the children in the Mogilino orphanage. Bulgaria is a European country with a population of more than 8 million in which one in every 50 children is growing up in an institution. As Kate Blewett stated in the television programme, it is not a destitute, war-torn or famine-stricken country. Many of the large number of Irish people who visit Bulgaria as tourists buy apartments there. Our role must be to try to influence the Bulgarian authorities, and, more important, the Bulgarian people. I sincerely hope action will be taken on this issue.

Minister Haughey's reply:

On behalf of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, I share the deep concern and disquiet provoked by the recent BBC documentary "Bulgaria's Abandoned Children". The large number of children resident in state-run institutions in Bulgaria is a difficult legacy of past policies and attitudes. This sad reality must now be addressed and further reforms must be made to protect a particularly vulnerable section of society.

The Bulgarian authorities have been working on the issue for some time. It was a topic of concern that formed part of discussions during Bulgaria's negotiations for EU accession. While some progress was made before accession, concerns were expressed by the European Commission and member states regarding areas where further actions are required. In particular, concerns have been expressed regarding living and sanitary conditions in many institutions. The Deputy can be assured that the EU continues to support the process within Bulgaria to reform this sector. Next year, some €5 million of EU Structural Funds will be directed towards the development of alternative care arrangements for children such as those featured in the documentary.

We have been told that the Bulgarian Ministry of Labour and Social Policy is committed to closing the institution mentioned in the documentary and similar ones that still exist in Bulgaria. Since 2001, the number of children in them has decreased by over 30% to approximately 8,500. Of course, this figure is still too high. Ideally the type of care to be provided involves finding relatives or foster families to look after these children. Placing them within a safe, reliable and family oriented environment must be the goal. This need is recognised by the Bulgarian authorities.

A group of non-governmental organisations, working together with UNICEF, the Bulgarian Association for the Protection of People with Disabilities, and the Bulgarian authorities, have drawn up an action plan to deal with the situation at the Mogilino institution. Medical evaluations of the children have been carried out and a group of specialists have provided some basic training to the staff. They plan to assess the needs of the children and provide an alternative form of care. The orphanage will be closed and specialist care provided by the creation of smaller group homes.

A special screening of the documentary took place in Sofia last week and was attended by a representative of our embassy. Attendance at the event also included representatives of the Bulgarian Government, members of civil society, academics, social workers, journalists and foreign diplomats. Children with disabilities and their families also attended. Following the screening of the film, there was wide-ranging debate on the issue. There was general recognition that a quick-fix to the problem is not realistic and that closing the particular institution in question immediately would simply shift the problem elsewhere.

The solution must be well thought out, lead to change across the system and have the interests of the children as the driving force behind it. I understand that contributions made by representatives of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, and the Ministry of the Interior, indicated their strong support for continuing to work with the NGO sector to bring about real change.

Our embassy in Sofia has regular contact with organisations working to improve the living conditions of the children and young adults in such institutions. A number of Irish citizens and organisations are also involved and the embassy supports them in their work where possible. Over the past five years, the Government has supported NGOs active in Bulgaria in the protection of children at risk and the rehabilitation of people with intellectual disabilities. Organisations supported include the Bulgarian Association for People with Intellectual Disabilities.

The Deputy can be assured that we will continue to remain engaged and to encourage the implementation of the important reform process. Our embassy has been instructed to seek a meeting at senior level with the Bulgarian Ministry of Labour and Social Policy to convey our concerns and to get an update on the situation. It will also inform the Bulgarian authorities of the strong public interest in Ireland, and across the EU, in seeing a dramatic improvement in the standards of care given to orphaned or abandoned children in Bulgaria.

Note: Deputy Kennedy erroneously describes Didi as having cerebral palsy — in fact her diagnosis is autism.

"Statement from Kate Blewett - 18th November 2007", on an archived capture of the TBACT website from November 21, 2007

Source:

The Bulgarian Abandoned Children's Trust via the Wayback Machine, webcapture dated 21 November, 2007

https://web.archive.org/web/20071121123334/http://www.tbact.org/root.aspx?pointerid=b65b48e065a640ad861dd72ac33da250

The statement:

During the filming of Bulgaria's Abandoned Children — there were times when I sat inside Mogilino - with Sean (the cameraman) and I would look around the room at the children and think “How am I going to make a film about the lives of these children? They don't do anything. They don't go anywhere. They don't speak. They don't smile. They don't play. Nothing changes. Nothing happens. They are warehoused human beings. Rocking. Rocking. Rocking. Self harming. Sitting. Sitting. Sitting. Why would people watch this film?”

The viewers have answered that question for me. The response to the film has been overwhelming. It feels as if everyone who watched Bulgaria's Abandoned Children felt a driving need to get in touch and HELP in absolutely any way they can.

The overwhelming response and offers of help has lead to the formation of a small team based in England and the Irish Republic working away behind the scenes - creating The Campaign for Bulgaria’s Abandoned Children. We have joined forces with a registered charity – The Bulgaria Project who have over 10 years experience of helping orphanages and institutions in Bulgaria – and our shared objective is to help children in institutes across Bulgaria. We are aiming to take in as many donations as is humanly possible – to build a substantial sum to support specific projects directly related to the disabled and abandoned children's lives - starting with Mogilino and then branching out to other institutes.

We are running two databases – one with viewers wanting to raise money and donate – and the other with those volunteering their skills and time to actually go over to Bulgaria to physically bring about a better life for the children. Amongst those offering their skills are builders who would like to improve the environment that the children live in with playgrounds, heating and windows without bars. Other volunteers are speech therapists, nurses, doctors, specialist teachers of autistic children or severely disabled children.

This 'gathering of people and money' process has been and remains very important because the actual process of change in Bulgaria needs to go through stages of putting the right people into the right places to help – BEFORE the help we send in can be used effectively and with the approval of those working in the system. This may sound complicated, and indeed it is – but it is critical.

Right now some great things have started to develop in Bulgaria. Cutting a long story short – since ‘Bulgaria’s Abandoned Children’ was aired - a team of Non Government Organisations (NGO’s) have united to form The NGO Alliance who are working with the government to bring about critical changes to the lives of the abandoned, disabled children growing up in the state institutes in Bulgaria for years, specifically trying to improve the lives of the children. The good news is that the film has created the attention and the noise needed for the government to listen – and allow those with experience and knowledge – to actively start making the much needed changes. This is such big news!

Work has begun in Mogilino. The children have been assessed in the last ten days, by a medical team and individual plans are being written for each child to begin the process of rehabilitation. Specialists, like speech therapists and physiotherapists are being assigned to Mogilino to work with the children.

This is such a relief. Such great progress. I cannot tell you how I feel about this. Though I am sure anyone reading this will have exactly the same reaction.

There are long term plans too because obviously there are children in other institutes who need the very same help. The NGO Alliance will be moving out beyond Mogilino to those other institutes and will hopefully follow the same pattern of assessments and rehabilitation for all the other children like Vasky, Stoyan, Didi, Milen and Todor.

In the long term the plan is to either build purpose built small group care homes for the children - or to relocate them to better environments with Day Care Centres and potential schooling. The latter option is more of a worry in my view because I feel it would be very easy to slide the children sideways into equally dismal environments and lose them in the system once the lights are off Mogilino! This is why our continued help is important.

We must continue to write to our MP’s and MEP’s and so keep the pressure on Ministers in Bulgaria - so that they carry out the plans that are being put into place right now. The pressure is what works. I feel we must keep writing those letters and keep demanding replies to make sure the long term plans to de institutionalise Bulgaria happens!

So please help me and the team - Siobhain, Hugh, Anna, Rosa, Brendan, Sophie and Sharon – to help the children in the institutes in Bulgaria. Trust us to use your money and/or skills properly and at the right time.

When we use the money you raise and donate to The Campaign for Bulgaria’s Abandoned Children - we will make sure it goes to helping the children in a way that we feel you would feel comfortable with...... we will monitor progress independently from the NGO Alliance and from the government to carry out that promise.

We need to raise £250,000 to put all our plans into action by the New Year.

Thank you for watching Bulgaria’s Abandoned Children and thank you for visiting our website to read this.

Our website has a lot of information about the film, the impact, the help, the government and the plans – and we will be updating it regularly with the latest developments in our campaign to help the children.

"Operation will help Milen from Mogilino to eat", article in bTV News, dated April 27, 2008

Source:

Операция ще помогне на Милен от Могилино да се храни (Operation will help Milen from Mogilino to eat), article in bTV Novinite (bTV News), from 27 April 2008

https://btvnovinite.bg/111666-Operatsiya_shte_pomogne_na_Milen_ot_Mogilino_da_se_hrani.html

The article:

Операция ще помогне на Милен от Могилино да се храни

След празниците момчето ще постъпи в болница, за да получи онази медицинска помощ, която му се е полагала преди 15 години, напълно безплатно и от сърце.

Публикувано в 22:00 ч. 27.04.2008 г.

Започва лечението на един от младежите от дома в Могилино, герой във филма на Би Би Си "Изоставените деца на България". Освен че вече живее в защитено жилище в Пазарджик, след великденските празници Милен ще бъде опериран, за да се храни нормално.

Досега той е живял с отворено небце без преграда между устната и носната кухина, което пречи на нормалния прием на храната. Оказва се, че някога е бил опериран - неуспешно, незнайно къде и как, защото никъде в досието му е записана подобна интервенция.

Вероятно след смъртта на родителите си преди 15 години Милен се озовал в Могилино, където живял доскоро и бил пребиван неведнъж.

English translation (my own):

Operation will help Milen from Mogilino to eat

After the holidays, the boy will be admitted to hospital to receive the medical care he received 15 years ago, completely free of charge and from the heart.

Published at 10:00 on April 27, 2008

The treatment of one of the young people from the home in Mogilino, a character in the BBC film "Bulgaria's Abandoned Children", is starting. Apart from already living in a sheltered housing in Pazardjik, Milen will be operated on after the Easter holidays to eat normally.

Until now, he has lived with an open palate without a barrier between the mouth and nasal cavity, which interferes with normal food intake. It turns out that he was operated on once — unsuccessfully, it is not known where and how, because such an intervention is recorded nowhere in his file.

Probably after the death of his parents 15 years ago, Milen found himself in Mogilino, where he lived until recently and was beaten more than once.

"Vaska from Mogilino survived and fell in love", article in 24 Chasa News, dated September 23, 2010

Source:

Васка от Могилино оцеля и се влюби (Vaska from Mogilino survived and fell in love) in 24 Chasa (24 Hours), report by Ventsi Venkov, Rositsa Hristova, Dima Maksimova, and Kapka Todorova, photos by Rositsa Hristova

https://www.24chasa.bg/Article/618728

Above: At the opening of the center in Glozhene, Vaska enjoyed the company of director Mila Vasileva (right) and singer Mariana Popova.

Above: Vaska loves going for walks in the yard of her new home.

The article (from the part focusing on Vaska; by Rositsa Hristova):

Васка от Могилино оцеля и се влюби

23.09.2010 11:46; Венци Венков, отговорен редактор "Местен 24 часа" за Шумен, Разград и Търговище, Росица Христова, Дима Максимова, Капка Тодорова, Берлин

Заради крехкото и доскоро чупливо като стъкло телце всички възприемат Васка като дете. А всъщност е 21-годишна девойка, която със своята изтерзана безпомощност потресе и Англия във филма на Би Би Си за децата от Могилино. Две години след излъчването на филма онова ужасяващо слабо и умиращо същество няма нищо общо със сегашното момиче. То вече живее в Центъра от семеен тип в тетевенското село Гложене, открит през май тази година. УНИЦЕФ инвестира 343 хил. лв. в изграждането му.

У Васка животът се е върнал, той направо струи от нея. И какво по-голямо доказателство за жаждата й да я има от това, че май е влюбена. Забелязала го е директорката Мила Василева. Дори лелите, обгрижващи общо 11-те обитатели на центъра, клатят заговорнически глави. "Невероятно, вижте я - напълня, говори непрекъснато. Всички й се радваме", казва директорката, сочейки доволното момиче в количката.

Наскоро я водили и на море в Китен с още 5 деца. Месец преди заминаването Васка все за това говорела. Но като се върнали, забравила морето все едно не е била там. Сега номер едно в неспирното й бърборене е рехабилитаторът Косьо. "Сутрин със събуждането първите й думи са, че ще дойде да й прави масаж. Много го харесва, макар че не го вижда. По гласа го е заобичала и с такова умиление говори за него, непрекъснато го вика дори в събота и неделя", споделя тайната й Мила. Допълва, че непрекъснато наблюдавала изражението на момичето и казвала на колегите си: "Хора, това излъчване означава само едно - нашата Васка е влюбена."

Дали осъзнава чувството, е въпрос, но определено била озарена от очакването и появата на Косьо.

Когато дошли в новия си дом в Гложене през май, децата, сред които няма под 18-годишни, се нахвърляли стръвно на храната. Нищо друго не ги интересувало. Натъпквали филиите цели в устата си, да не би някой да им ги отнеме, крадели си храната. Били оскотели от глад.

Васка и до днес се радва на храната. Всички се забавляват, че иска за закуска "филийка със сандвич".

Когато я докарали в центъра, предупредили, че не може да яде само пасирана храна. Няма такова нещо, яде всичко, хорово уверяват жените от персонала.

Васка често се карала на момчетата да слушат, защото иначе нямало да ядат.

"Явно така са ги наказвали в Могилино и още не могат да го забравят", с горчивина разказва Мила.

При пристигането си в Гложене Васка била лека като перце, вдигали я без усилие и най-слабите асистентки.

"Сега вече преместването й е проблем", смее се директорката.

След Могилино Васка и още две момичета били настанени в дома в село Пчелище. Там тя много силно се привързала към една от лелките.

Леля Денка придружила Васка до Гложене, а сега често звъни по телефона, за да разговаря с любимката си. Тогава незрящото момиче грейвало от щастие. "Обичат си се много двечките", доволна е от привързаността им Мила.

Според нея питомците на модерно обзаведения дом в Гложене не са трудни за гледане, всичко било въпрос на свикване и организация. А пък Васка била най-лесна. "Тя е толкова сладка. Никога не се сърди, не плаче - абсолютно незлобливо дете", казва възторжено Мила. Тя очевидно има точно око за всичките младежи с тежка умствена изостаналост, които са й поверени, и говори за тях с обич. Целият персонал вече ги познава добре и знае от кого какво да очаква. На Васка любими й били разходките и обича да прекарва деня навън. Когато вали, посърва. Седи с часове и пред телевизора, слушайки музика. Обича всякакви песни.

Бързо запомня текста и е много музикална, макар че личният й репертоар включва само детски песнички.

В началото имали притеснения за крехките кости на Васка. Предупредили ги, че е много чуплива. Затова се страхували да я пипат. Оказало, че положението не е така страшно. Вече пет месеца момичето няма счупвания. Продължава постоянно да е в инвалидна количка, но вече сама се прехвърля в леглото.

Васка била 3-4-годишна, когато родителите й от близкото до Гложене село Български извор я оставили в дома в Могилино. Сега идвали да я виждат, вземали я дори у дома, но я връщали още на следващия ден, тъй като нямали условия да се грижат за нея. Иначе били много мили и добри хора. Независимо че били бедни, гледали все да донесат по нещо и за другите деца - по-евтини памперси, сладкиши. За дъщеря си задължително носели по кашон с меденки - любимото й лакомство.

English translation (my own):

Vaska from Mogilino survived and fell in love

September 23, 2010 at 11:46; Ventsi Venkov, editor-in-chief of "Local 24 Hours" for Shumen, Razgrad and Targovishte, Rositsa Hristova, Dima Maximova, Kapka Todorova, Berlin

Because of her brittle and, until recently, fragile-like-glass body, everyone perceives Vaska as a child. In fact, she is a 21-year-old girl who, with her tormented helplessness, shook England in the BBC film about the children from Mogilino. Two years after the film aired, that terribly weak and dying creature has nothing to do with the current girl. She now lives in the Family-Type Center in the Teteven village of Glozhene, opened in May this year. UNICEF is investing 343,000 leva in its construction.

Life has returned to Vaska, it flows straight from her. And what greater proof of her thirst to have it than the fact that she seems to be in love? The director Mila Vasileva noticed it. Even the "aunties", who care for a total of 11 residents of the center, shake their heads conspiratorially. "Amazing, look at her, constantly talking. We are all happy for her", says the director, pointing to the happy girl in the wheelchair.

Recently she was taken to the sea in Kiten with 5 other children. A month before leaving, Vaska kept talking about it. But when they returned, she forgot the sea as if she had never been there. Now the number one subject of her incessant chatter is her rehabilitator Kosyo. "When she wakes up in the morning, her first words are that he will come to give her a massage. She likes him very much, although she can't see him. She loved him from his voice and she spoke about him with such affection, she constantly called him even on weekends", Mila shares her secret. She added that she constantly watched the girl's expression and told her colleagues: "People, this aura means only one thing — our Vaska is in love."

Whether she was aware of the feeling was a question, but she was definitely lightened by Kosyo's anticipation and appearance.

When they arrived at their new home in Glozhene in May, the children, including those under 18, pounced on the food. Nothing else interested them. They stuffed the slices [of bread] whole in their mouths so that no one would take them away, they stole their food. They were starving.

Vaska still enjoys food. Everyone is amused that she wants a "sliced sandwich" for breakfast.

When they brought her to the center, they warned that she could only eat puréed food. But not anymore, she eats everything, the women of the staff assure the people.

Vaska often scolded the boys for not listening, because otherwise they would not have eaten.

"Apparently they were punished like that in Mogilino and they still can't forget it", Mila says bitterly.

When she arrived in Glozhene, Vaska was as light as a feather, and even the weakest assistants lifted her effortlessly.

"Now her movement is a problem", laughs the director.

After Mogilino, Vaska and two other girls were placed in a home in the village of Pchelishte. There she became very attached to one of the "aunties".

Auntie Denka accompanied Vaska to Glozhene, and now she often calls on the phone to talk to her pet. Then the blind girl glowed with happiness. "They love each other very much", Mila is happy with their affection.

According to her, the "pets" of the modernly furnished home in Glozhene are not difficult to look after, everything was a matter of convening and organization. And Vaska was the easiest. "She is so sweet. She never gets angry, she never cries — an absolutely innocent child", says Mila enthusiastically. She obviously has an eye for all the severely mentally disabled young people entrusted to her, and she speaks of them with love. The whole staff already knows them well and knows from whom to expect what. Vaska loves going for walks and likes to spend the day outside. When it rains, she sulks. She sits for hours in front of the TV, listening to music. She loves all kinds of songs.

She memorises the lyrics quickly and is very musical, although her personal repertoire includes only children's songs.

At first they were worried about Vaska's fragile bones. They had been warned that she was very fragile. That is why they were afraid to touch her. It turned out that the situation was not so terrible. The girl has not had a fracture for five months now. She is still in a wheelchair, but is now moving into bed on her own.

Vaska was 3 to 4 years old when her parents from the village of Bulgarski Izvor near Glozhene left her at the home in Mogilino. Now they came to see her, even took her home, but returned her the next day because they did not have the conditions to take care of her. Otherwise they were very kind and good people. Although they were poor, they always tried to bring something for the other children too — cheaper diapers, sweets. For their daughter, they always carried a box of gingerbread — her favourite treat.

"Misho and Milen from Mogilino no longer protect their food", article in Marica News, dated October 27, 2016

Source:

Мишо и Милен от Могилино вече не си бранят храната, article and photos by Valentina Asenova of Pazardzhishka Marica, dated 27 October 2016, Marica News

https://www.marica.bg/region/pazardjik/misho-i-milen-ot-mogilino-veche-ne-si-branqt-hranata

Above: Milen.

The article:

Мишо и Милен от Могилино вече не си бранят храната

Екип Марица

27. 10. 2016

Двама от възпитаниците на станалия печално известен дом за деца с увреждания в русенското село Могилино — 30-годишният Мишо и 28-годишният Милен, имат най-големия напредък на фона на останалите настанени в жилището. Въпреки че нито единият няма изгледи да проговори — те общуват предимно с жестове, постижение е, че те вече не се страхуват, че някой ще им открадне храната или вещите. А в началото, когато дошли от Могилино преди 10 години, те ядели, заграждайки с ръце чинията си. И слагали играчките си върху гардероба, за да не им ги вземат. Много беше трудно тогава, но вече се справят доста добре с всичко, обясняват от екипа на жилището.

Двамата са и от най-трудолюбивите - с неподозирана сръчност и видимо желание сглобяват чантичките всеки ден. И дори с нетърпение чакат сутрин да тръгнат с буса към работното си място. От екипа на ЦСРИ дори са на мнение, че Милен спокойно може да започне работа в някой от цеховете, където се трудят други двама от неговите съквартиранти. Проблемът в случая е, че той не може да подписва договори сам, защото е поставен под запрещение, още докато е бил в Могилино. За да отпадне забраната, е нужно да се открият негови роднини — нещо, което за момента не е възможно. Затова и се чакат промени в закона, които ще позволят на всички хора с ментални затруднения да работят, ако това не е по възможностите им.

English translation:

Misho and Milen from Mogilino no longer protect their food

Marica Team

October 27, 2016

Two of the alumni of the now infamous home for children with disabilities in the village of Mogilino in Ruse — 30-year-old Misho and 28-year-old Milen — have made the greatest progress compared to the others accommodated in the apartment. Although none of them has a chance to speak — they communicate mainly with gestures, the achievement is that they are no longer afraid that someone will steal their food or belongings. And in the beginning, when they came from Mogilino 10 years ago, they ate enclosing their plate with their hands. And they put their toys on the wardrobe so they wouldn't be taken away. It was very difficult then, but they are already doing pretty well with everything, the housing team explains.

They are both the most hard-working — with unsuspected dexterity and visible desire they assemble bags every day. And they even look forward to taking the bus to work in the morning. The CSRI team is even of the opinion that Milen can easily start working in one of the workshops where two of his other roommates work. The problem in this case is that he cannot sign contracts on his own because he was placed under guardianship while he was in Mogilino. In order for the ban to be lifted, it is necessary to find his relatives — something that is not possible at the moment. That is why changes in the law are expected which will allow all people with mental disabilities to work if it is within their means.

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"New lives for Bulgaria's abandoned children", article in BBC News, dated October 15, 2009

Source:

New lives for Bulgaria's abandoned children, article and photographs by Kate Blewett, in BBC News (Europe) on 15 October 2009

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8307256.stm

Above: Bulgaria has the highest number of disabled children in institutes in the EU. (Milen and Misho now live in a small home with other young people of mixed abilities.

Above: Didi now goes to school every day and is top of her maths class.

Above: Vasky was suffering from malnutrition and neglect but is now much happier.

The article:

New lives for Bulgaria's abandoned children

Award-winning documentary filmmaker Kate Blewett recently returned to Bulgaria to see how things have changed after the international outcry in response to her film Bulgaria's Abandoned Children.

In the original film, which I made two years ago, I focused on a handful of the 75 disabled children living in the Mogilino institute and watched their lives over a nine-month period. I witnessed their dreadful deterioration.

My first impressions of Mogilino were strangely misleading because the actual building was clean, bleached and painted.

It was not until I pulled back the bed covers to witness the children's wasted bodies that I realised there was a very serious problem.

Vasky is blind and suffers with cerebral palsy. She was abandoned in a baby unit and then sent to Mogilino at the age of four, where she grew up. We learnt that when she arrived she loved music, and loved to dance and sing.

Sadly what I witnessed, 14 years after her arrival, was a deeply unhappy girl, who had simply shut down, who sat on her bed day in and day out — saying nothing, her head bent down between her knees.

Brutalised

Milen, a gentle teenager with a cleft palate and the mentality of a young child, is mute and spent each day helping out around the home. Now 21, he does not speak because no-one has bothered to talk to him.

During filming, Milen was brutalised and beaten by a member of the staff. I captured this on camera and confronted the director of Mogilino.

The offending staff member was fired and Milen was moved to a protected home far away.

Didi, now 20, arrived at Mogilino just before filming began. Her mother could no longer cope with her teenage daughter's autism at home, so she abandoned her to the institute.

Sadly for Didi, she was thrown into an environment where she could not make any friends or continue with her education, because Mogilino is a place for the uneducable and those living there do not speak.

Didi deteriorated rapidly and would rock back and forth relentlessly. She shut down — just like all the others around her.

Extraordinary impact

To witness such human deterioration and to know the only way to truly effect change was to carry on filming and bring the documentary film to a wider audience — was an incredibly difficult process.

However the impact my film had has been extraordinary. Viewers wrote to me by the thousands, donating money, and forming petitions demanding change from their MPs and MEPs.

Some gave up their jobs and went to Bulgaria to help, taking supplies, food, clothing and medical aid.

The Bulgarian government put Unicef in charge of finding new placements for all the children of Mogilino, with the plan that the institute will shut once every child has been re-housed.

Slavka Kukova, co-ordinator of the Protection of the Institutionalised Children's Human Rights Program, says that the film meant that disabled children's "rights and problems are now on the agenda for the Bulgaria media."

"A slow process of raising awareness about the potential reform of the children care system has now started," she adds.

This year I returned to Bulgaria to find out exactly what has happened to some of the key characters from the original film. Once again I was shocked by what I found.

I witnessed the miraculous improvements that can happen in badly-damaged children when decent care is finally given to them.

Milen now lives in a glorious home with seven other young people and good carers. He is a new person — happy, outgoing and communicative through sign language.

He works every day putting handles onto bags and is paid for the amount he completes. He attends a day-care centre where he creates art and plays games with the other young people.

Genuine care

Didi lives in a special boarding school for those with behavioural and learning difficulties. She has wonderful carers and has made good friends.

She goes to school every day and is top of her maths class.

She makes her own clothes, goes to the shops to buy things she likes and visits museums and art galleries.

Vasky has been moved to an institute for the blind, which though large has excellent care and she has been transformed into a happy, active, smiling young lady.

She eats well and demands two courses at meal times, giggling cheekily with her carer as she asks if she can go out in her car with her.

A report from Unicef also recognised that the children from Mogilino have made great improvements since leaving the home.

"Their cognitive development has changed at all levels (perception, attention, memory and thinking) ... they have become part of particular groups and spend more time playing."

I feel overwhelmed with the dramatic changes in the lives of these young people. I feel the film lifted the lid on a desperate situation that had been hidden away.

I look forward to the day this year when Mogilino is finally shut.

The problems were not all about poverty or money, but rather about having a good level of genuine care that transformed a miserable existence into a fulfilling one.

Bulgaria does have good carers and decent homes but what it now needs to do is to get rid of its large, isolated institutes that are warehouses to a further 8,000 disabled children, and to create small group homes.

"There can be no more remodelling or restructuring of institutions. There needs to be a well-organised campaign that seeks to close down all institutions and set up proper alternative care services," says Mark O'Sullivan of the Bulgarian-based Cedar Foundation.

"The government needs to carry on what it is doing well but it also needs to radically overhaul the parts of its system which are not working," he adds.

All members of the EU should draw Bulgaria in as a new family member and help turn around the care system for the abandoned disabled children, to deinstitutionalise a country that has a new receptive government in place — and is ready for change.

Bulgaria's Abandoned Children Revisited is on BBC Four on Thursday 15 October at 2100 BST.

"The state acknowledged that the home in Mogilino did not meet care standards", article in Mediapool News, from March 5, 2008

Source:

"Държавата призна, че домът в Могилино не отговаря на стандартите за грижи", article in Mediapool News, 5 March 2008

https://www.mediapool.bg/darzhavata-prizna-che-domat-v-mogilino-ne-otgovarya-na-standartite-za-grizhi-news136884.html

The article:

Държавата призна, че домът в Могилино не отговаря на стандартите за грижи

05 март 2008

Проверка в дома за деца с умствени и физически увреждания в русенското село Могилино, извършена от служители на Държавната агенция за младежта и спорта (ДАМС) по нареждане на Върховната касационна прокуратура (ВКП), е установила, че домът отговаря само на един от 26-те стандарта за отглеждане на такива деца. Това съобщи началникът на дирекция Бистра Петрова пред парламентарната комисия по въпросите за децата, младежта и спорта.

Така държавата призна, че грижите в дома, добил скандална известност не само у нас, но и в Европа покрай филма на ББС “Отхвърлените деца на България”, не отговарят на съвременните изисквания. Преди това обаче всички възможни държавни институции хвърлиха огромни усилия да опровергават авторите на филма, който показваше как децата в този дом влошават състоянието си именно от липсата на адекватно отглеждане.

Проверката е завършила с категоричното становище, че домът в Могилино трябва да се закрие заедно с останалите 6 подобни заведения.

Оттук насетне заседанието на парламентарната комисия зацикли в познати тези о неефективни решения. Така председателят на комисията Васил Иванов — Лучано предложи да бъде сформирана междуведомствена контактна група, която да работи по дейността на всички социални домове в страната. Според предложението му в групата ще влязат представители на Министерството на правосъдието, на финансите, на труда и социалната политика, на образованието, на здравеопазването, на Държавната агенция за закрила на детето, Агенцията за социално подпомагане, Националното сдружение на общините, както и на Държавната агенция за младежта и спорта. Гласуването на това предположение обаче остана за следващото заседание на комисията.

Директорката на дома Павлина Йорданова обяви пред депутатите, че извършеният медицински преглед на децата е показал, че част от тях не биха могли да се адаптират, ако бъдат изведени от досегашната им среда. Тя призова поне някои от децата да останат за отглеждане в дома, и ако се налага, той да бъде преобразуван в "малък групов дом".

Кметът на село Могилино Димитър Димитров заяви пред комисията, че материална база в дома отговаряла на всички изисквания. Кметът повтори пред журналисти страха си, че 60-те души от селото, които за заети в дома, ще останат без работа.

Секретарят на община Русе Валентин Христов пък помоли депутатите да не прибързват със затварянето на дома в Могилино и с преместването на децата в община Русе, защото това щяло да бъде само "географско решение на проблема, който касаел предимно тяхното обгрижване."

Община Русе била готова за предостави терен, но напрежението в квартал "Средна кула" избухнало именно заради прибързаното обявяване закриването на дома, каза още Христов. По думите му, едно евентуално преместване на децата от Могилино в община Русе ще бъде вредно за тях заради враждебната среда, в която ще попаднат. А от квартала някои хора реагираха на новината за евентуално преместване на увредените деца в защитени жилища с довода, че питомците щели да стресират техните деца.

English translation (my own):

The state acknowledged that the home in Mogilino did not meet care standards

March 05, 2008

An inspection of the home for children with mental and physical disabilities in the Ruse village of Mogilino, carried out by employees of the State Agency for Youth and Sports (SAYS) on the orders of the Supreme Cassation Prosecutor's Office (SCP), found that the home met only one of the 26 standards of caring for such children. This was announced by the head of the directorate Bistra Petrova before the parliamentary committee on children, youth and sports.

Thus, the state acknowledged that the care at the home, which gained notoriety not only in our country but also in Europe along with the BBC film "Bulgaria's Abandoned Children", does not meet modern requirements. Before that, however, all possible state institutions made great efforts to refute the authors of the film, which showed how the children in this home worsen in their condition precisely because of the lack of adequate care.

The inspection ended with the categorical opinion that the home in Mogilino should be closed together, with 6 other similar establishments.

Henceforth, the sitting of the parliamentary committee became entrenched in ineffective decisions. Thus, the chairman of the commission, Vasil Ivanov-Luciano, proposed to form an interdepartmental contact group to work on the activities of all social homes in the country. According to his proposal, the group will include representatives of the Ministry of Justice, Finance, Labour and Social Policy, Education, Health, the State Agency for Child Protection, the Social Assistance Agency, the National Association of Municipalities and the State Agency for Youth and Sports. However, the vote on this assumption remained for the next committee meeting.

The director of the home, Pavlina Yordanova, told the deputies that the medical examination of the children showed that some of them could not adapt if they were taken out of their current environment. She called for at least some of the children to stay in the home and, if necessary, it be converted into a "small group home".

The mayor of the village of Mogilino, Dimitar Dimitrov, told the commission that the material base in the home met all the requirements. The mayor reiterated to journalists his fear that the 60 people from the village who are employed in the home will lose their jobs.

The secretary of the municipality of Ruse, Valentin Hristov, asked the deputies not to rush with the closing of the home in Mogilino and the relocation of the children in the municipality of Ruse, because this would be only "a geographical solution to the problem, which mainly concerned their care."

The municipality of Ruse was ready to provide land, but the tension in the Sredna Kula neighborhood erupted precisely because of the hasty announcement of the closure of the home, Hristov added. According to him, a possible relocation of the children from Mogilino to the municipality of Ruse will be harmful for them because of the hostile environment in which they will find themselves. And some people in the neighborhood reacted to the news of the possible relocation of disabled children to sheltered housing, arguing that the little ones would stress their children.

"Mental health travesty in Bulgaria", article in BBC News, dated December 16, 2002

Source:

Mental health travesty in Bulgaria, article by Karen Allen (BBC Health Correspondent) in BBC News, dated 16 December 2002

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2579865.stm

Above: Patients have to cope with the intense cold.

Above: Conditions are squalid.

The article:

Mental health travesty in Bulgaria

By Karen Allen

BBC Health Correspondent

As Bulgaria looks set to join the European Union by 2007, it is under pressure to reform mental health care — in particular its notorious social care homes.

These are not psychiatric hospitals but institutions for people with mental disabilities.

People who in many other parts of Europe would be cared for in the community.

They are very much a hangover from Soviet times, more akin to Russian labour camps then [sic] sanctuaries of care.

In many instances there is barely any heating although there are sub-zero temperatures outside and the glass from the windows is missing.

There is minimal medical attention (in many homes there is no doctor on site) and nutritious food is in limited supply.

It is perhaps not surprising when those running the homes have a budget of around £30 per person per month.

Widespread ignorance

What makes it all the more worrying is that many people in Bulgaria aren't aware these places exist — so the political pressure to close them down comes largely from independent monitoring groups which have so far only had limited success.

According to the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee — an internationally respected human rights group — Bulgaria has some 100 social care homes — responsible for around eight thousand vulnerable adults and children.

These people have been abandoned by their families — often since childhood — a throwback to the Communist past when the cultural norm was to hide these people away in institutions far away from view.

Many countries are guilty of doing the same to a lesser degree but the difference with Bulgaria is the neglectful state of these human warehouses.

Guardianship of the residents rests with the directors of the homes and once a mentally ill person has been admitted, there is little chance they will get out.

There is also little incentive to close the homes down when in many cases they're the main employer in the district.

Mountain unit

I visited one in Western Bulgaria — Pastra situated high up in the mountains not far from the Rila Monestary [sic], one of the most religious spots in Bulgaria.

But there is nothing spiritual about Pastra. Here men with mental disabilities ranging from severe schizophrenia to what we in the UK would call "learning disabilities"; pace aimlessly around in the snow.

Some have no shoes and socks although it's minus ten degrees outside.

One in ten residents did not survive the past year — and there is no reason to expect it to be any different this year.

All this in 21st century Bulgaria. A country rich in history, religion and culture soon to become a fully fledged member of the European Union.

A country which has met the Copenhagen Criteria which states that "membership requires that the candidate country has achieved stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for, and protection of minorities", and a country that has been slow to right the wrongs of the past.

Bulgaria is struggling economically so money is tight.

Reforms in mental health care are in the pipeline — but the focus is largely on practices in psychiatric hospitals (themselves appaulling [sic]) — and to date social care homes seems [sic] to have been excluded from any proposals.

International standing

Even so, the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy is sensitive to its international reputation and has told the BBC that its investment is going into modernising these homes.

It trumpets the fact that it has put more money into modernising it's [sic] social institutions and has closed the notorious Sanadinovo children's home.

But when a ministry tells you that at Pastra the heating problems were solved two years ago — and our visit proved that this was clearly no[t] so — one has to be sceptical about how much things have changed.

Human Rights Campaigner Krassimir Kanev sums up the situation.

"Bulgaria strives to reach the European level of economic and social welfare and on the other hand it has 18th century asylums."

Of course, Bulgaria is not alone in continuing the practices of the past.

Romania and Hungary have also had attracted criticism for the atrocious state of their mental health instututions [sic].

But pressure must be brought to bear by the international community.

The fact that a recent report by Amnesty International on the state of Bulgaria's care homes, received barely any press or media coverage — is an indictment of a modern society that has forgotten that it was only 13 years ago, when similar scenes of neglect in Ceaucescu's Romania, caused a global outcry.

"To be raised in a family is an undeniable right for every child: Challenges of Children in Residential Centers", article from UNICEF Albania from November 6, 2019

Source:

"To be raised in a family is an undeniable right for every child: Challenges of Children in Residential Centers", article written by Klodiana Kapo for UNICEF Albania, 6 November 2019

https://www.unicef.org/albania/stories/be-raised-family-undeniable-right-every-child

The article:

There is silence in the room. Only Miri can be heard, seeking for his mother. No one answers. A woman with a white apron comes to his side, but she is not the mother, she is the caregiver of the orphanage who takes care of Andi and Miri. In only six months, their lives have completely changed. The two brothers lived on the outskirts of a coastal town in Albania. Life seemed normal, until one day, Flutura, the mother, had left the apartment with her daughter because her husband repeatedly abused her. But now, he is in prison. The only person who can take care of the boys is Agimi, the grandfather.

He is old, with no financial means, and after two months of trying hard to take care of the two little boys, he has given up. He asked the municipality for support, stating that he is unable to care for his grandchildren and asked that the children be placed under the care of the state authorities. Immediately, the municipal employee opened a file, assessed the conditions and registered the case. It was immediately decided that both children be accommodated in a residential care institution.

He returned home, and his heart was pounding out of his chest as he thought about his grandchildren who would no longer be in his home. He knew that, despite the dedication of the caregivers, they cannot replace the warmth of the family that the boys need so much. Since then, it has been a long time in the center, and it's not known what their future will be like. Flutura, the mother, can't take the kids with her, she can't go back home and has no stable income to care for her three children.

Challenges of Children in Residential Centers

Children who are part of residential care institutions are deprived of social, emotional and intellectual stimulation, which are critical to the healthy development of a child's brain. Distanced from mainstream society, children in institutions are particularly vulnerable to violence, neglect and, abuse. Experts affirm that the impact of child separation and institutionalization is severe and can last a lifetime.

The law states that the highest interest of children is not to remain in institutional care, but rather with their biological family. Currently, in Albania, 230 children live in public residential care facilities, however, most of them have biological families. Miri and Andi will continue to stay in the Institution. The time span of the parents' parental training depends on their interest, but also on the commitment of the social service structures to empower the family with a full package of services.

In the case of two children, their family is not yet ready to care for them, their father is still in prison. Flutura, their mother, continues to be afraid, because her husband could get out of jail and endanger both her and her daughter's life.

The way to the solution

For the first time, professionals from the Ministry of Health and Social Protection in Albania and UNICEF have developed an assessment of children and their families, for every child placed in institutional care. Experts have observed and are proposing options for the reunification of children with their biological families. Even when children have to leave their families to be more safe, other forms of care have to be found to recreate the family environment, such as foster families.

With the support of UNICEF and the Ministry of Health and Social Welfar[e], special teams of experts have been set up to assess the needs of children in institutional care. Work is underway with local government and residential care institutions to design and implement child development and family empowerment support programs. This team will also support each of the 231 children in six Public Care Institutions with the necessary services for their development and well[-]being until they are given opportunities to grow up in a family environment, because children like Miri and Andi deserve to grow up like all other kids.

"The social home in the village of Pastra", article in bTV News, dated December 7, 2003

Source:

Социалният дом в село Пастра (The social home in the village of Pastra), article written by Kristina Baksanova in bTV News, 7 December 2003

https://www.btv.bg/article/shows/btv-reporterite/temi/sotzialniyat-dom-v-selo-pastra.html

The article:

Социалният дом в село Пастра

Условията на живот в институции за хора с психически увреждания са тежки, а възможностите за рехабилитация и лечение - оскъдни. Това е записано в годишния доклад на Европейската комисия за страната ни.

7 декември 2003

автор: Кристина Баксанова

С лудите, ние здравите или се шегуваме, или отвръщаме уплашено глава, когато минат покрай нас на улицата. И е най-лесно да отсъдим, че някой е причинил на някого нещо, защото е луд и мястото му е в лудницата. Защо в България "лудницата" е по-страшна от "затвора"?! Какво причиняваме ние, здравите, на тях, лудите. И с какво ги подлудяваме?

Болницата

"Лудницата" - с това второ име бележат местните хора благоевградското село Хърсово. То е в планината, на десетина километра от града. В Хърсово са на лечение заедно мъже и жени. Шестима от тях са тук вече повече от три години. В болницата можеш да поиграеш... Или да попееш... Да сготвиш или да си купиш кола от барчето за 10 стотинки. Да помогнеш... Или да се влюбиш...

Домът

"Страх ли ви е от тях?" - с тези думи ни посрещнаха в дома за възрастни мъже с психични разстройства в село Пастра. До дома няма шосе, нито табела. Скрит е в Рилската обител. За да стигнете до него, трябва да се отклоните около 3 километра от пътя за Рилския манастир. Това не е лудница. Това е дом. В него живеят мъже, които са боледували от психични разстройства, но според медицинския термин сега са в ремисия. Това означава, че тези мъже всеки ден пият лекарства, за да се възстановяват напълно, не са в криза и съзнанието им е като на здрав човек. Повечето от пациентите са настанени в дома по искане на роднините им. И остават тук забравени завинаги.

Сред тях има и от наричаните "нормални". Като Асен. Той е настанен по искане на роднините му. "Аз съм от две години тука, в дома. Две години седях, един месец си бях в къщи и сега пак влезнах. Дойдохме в четвъртък с батко за подпис за лекарствата. Аз се забавих, защото ми стана лошо, а те са си заминали и аз останах", разказва Асен.

Според правния термин Асен е под "запрещение" - т. е. мъжът има роднина, който решава вместо него.

"Ако роднина или настойник не иска или не може да се справя с грижите за един психично болен, той може да бъде настанен в институция. Законът за социално подпомагане изисква това да се прави, когато са положени всички усилия, грижите за тези хора да се полагат в общността", обясни София Разбойникова от "Български адвокато за правата на човека".

В Пастра Асен не общува с никого, както повечето мъже в дома. Предпочита да е сам. Непрекъснато пита санитаря кога ще го пусне да се върне при роднините си в къщи.

- Да си живея при тях искам — казва Асен.

- Тук какво не ви харесва?

- Ами обстановката, чувствам се подтиснат.

Стаята на Асен е на последния етаж в една от сградите. "Стаите са хубави, не са лоши, но няма стъкло. Нощно време е студено, осветление няма", обяснява Асен. Не се налага мъжете да гасят лампата. Когато вали, усещат дъжда по лицето си, докато лежат в леглата. Тоалетната и банята са навън.

"В повечето домове няма материални условия тези грижи да бъдат полагани. Рядко за тях се полагат редовни грижи от лекари, редовни прегледи от стоматолог, гинеколог и т. н.", посочи София Разбойникова, адвокат по правата на човека.

За мъжете в Пастра се грижи общо практикуващ доктор. Психиатър няма. Само в два пъти в годината са преглеждани от такъв специалист. Директорът на дома Асен Косанов не е лекар, а санитар. "Тук са настанени пациентите, които не са в остър стадий на болестта и не се лекуват в болници. Тук са на поддържаща терапия", казва Асен Косанов.

- Могат ли да живят в града?

- Да, но не можем да сме сигурни, че няма да реагират по начин, който е опасен за околните.

- Например?

- Например, някои обичат да палят, някои да буйстват.

Още преди две години български и международни правозащитни организации сигнализираха, че условията в тези домове са опасни за здравето на обитаващите ги. В последния доклад на Европейската комисия е записано, че в България животът в институциите за хора с психически увреждания е тежки и неадекватен, а рехабилитацията и лечението - оскъдни.

"Има установени случаи на насилие, дори има установени случаи на смърт, поради недохранване и измръзване, които не се разследват, а това е задължение на българската държава", съобщи Разбойникова.

В дома в Пастра има около 90 пациенти и 36 души персонал. Шепнейки, работещите споделиха, че между тези мъже има математик, инженер, няколко учители и филолози. Никой от мъжете не посмя сам да ни заговори, все едно в дома нямаше непознати.

- Какво правят мъжете през деня?

- Най-често се пекат на слънце, когато времето позволява. 10-15 човека помагат на хората в съседното село, но основната част седят — отговори Асен Косанов.

В Пастра Асен трябва да се чувства като у дома си, но очите му остават помръкнали, а устните му прошепват само една молба: "Ако могат да ме пуснат да си ходя, да си отида от тук, завинаги!"

Центърът

Центърът за психично здраве "Адаптация" се намира в къща, в центъра на София. Готвачите в кухнята са "клиенти" на центъра. Това са хора с психични проблеми, които също са в ремисия като обитателите на дома в село Пастра. Те могат да избират как да прекарват част от свободното си време - например да напазаруват, или да приготвят вкусно ястие, да разговарят на чаша чай или кафе, да поспорят или да измайсторят нещо в групата по арт терапия. Всеки от тях идва в центъра след разговор с психиатър, психолог или личния си лекар.

Николета избира група по готварство. Тя разказва: "Аз останах съвсем сама, без работа, без семейство, без майка и дойдох тук, за да намеря една социална среда. Тук се срещам с хора с моето заболяване и сме много толерантни един към друг. По-голямо разбиране намирам, по-спокойна се чувствам."

"Като дойдем сутринта, всички се събираме и решаваме какво да сготвим. Даже вчера решили пълнени чушки, но чушките не са хубави и решихме да направим миш-маш", обяснява възрастна жена.

Програмата съществува от две години. През първата година парите отпуска неправителствена организация. Сега участниците продължават да идват в кухнята и всеки сам заделя по 50 стотинки или левче, за да купят продуктите. "Планираме горе-долу определена цена и купуваме. Важното е, че се събираме тук и сме заедно. Заедно си хапваме. Ние можем и вкъщи да си сготвим, но тук сме заедно и ни е по-весело, по не се чувстваме изолирани", сподели Николета.

Дневният център е един от моделите за грижи на хората с психични проблеми в общността - близо до домовете и семейства им.

- За какво си говорите най-често?

- Говорим си най-често какво ще сготвим. Но понякога и се оплакваме, на кой какво се е случило. Това, което другите хора не могат да го понесат, ние го понасяме. Нещо като групова терапия — отговаря Николета.

"Преди сме седмици Елена имаше рожден ден. Направихме торта, супа, пуснахме си музика, танцувахме. При нас няма никакъв хаос, както си мислят някои. При нас има по-голям ред, отколкото в обществото. И никой не крещи и не вика", обясни Николета.

И следващата седмица тя пак ще се среща с новите си приятели в центъра ще се чувства полезна: "Тук нямам шеф, който да ме травмира и да ми крещи. По-добре се чувствам - все едно си ходя на работа, но без шеф."

Трябва да има повече подобни дневни центрове за хора с психични проблеми е записано в бялата книга за здравното министерство за реформата на психиатричната помощ в страната ни. Засега малкото съществуващи подобни дневни центрове са подкрепяни само от неправителствени организации.

English translation (my own):

The social home in the village of Pastra

Living conditions in institutions for people with mental disabilities are difficult, and opportunities for rehabilitation and treatment are scarce. This is written in the annual report of the European Commission for our country.

December 7, 2003

author: Kristina Baksanova

With the insane, we, the healthy, either joke or turn our heads in fright when they pass us on the street. And it's easiest to judge that someone has done something to someone because they're crazy and their place is in the madhouse. Why in Bulgaria is the "madhouse" scarier than "prison"?! What do we, the healthy, do to them, the insane? And what do we drive them insane with?

The hospital

"The Madhouse" — with this middle name the locals mark the Blagoevgrad village of Harsovo. It is in the mountains, ten kilometers from the city. In Harsovo, men and women are being treated together. Six of them have been here for more than three years. In the hospital you can play... Or sing... Cook or buy a car from the bar for 10 stotinki. Help... Or fall in love...

The home

"Are you afraid of them?" — with these words we were greeted at the home for elderly men with mental disorders in the village of Pastra. There is no road or sign to the house. It is hidden in the Rila Monastery. To reach it, you have to deviate about 3 kilometers from the road to the Rila Monastery. This is not a madhouse. This is a home. It is inhabited by men who have suffered from mental disorders, but according to medical terms are now in remission. This means that these men take medication every day to fully recover, are not in crisis and their mind is like a healthy person. Most of the patients were placed in the home at the request of their relatives. And they remain forgotten here forever.

Among them are the so-called "normal" ones. Like Asen. He was accommodated at the request of his relatives. "I've been here for two years. I've been sitting here for two years, I've been home for a month and now I'm in again. We came on Thursday with my dad to sign the drugs. I was late because I felt sick and they left and I stayed", says Asen.

According to the legal term, Asen is under "interdiction" — i.e. the man has a relative who decides instead.

"If a relative or guardian does not want or cannot cope with the care of a mentally ill person, he or she can be placed in an institution. The Social Assistance Act requires this to be done when all efforts have been made to care for these people and put them in the community", explained Sofia Razboynikova, a Bulgarian human rights lawyer.

In Pastra Asen does not communicate with anyone, like most men in the home. He prefers to be alone. He constantly asks the nurse when he will be allowed to return home to his relatives.

"I want to live with them," says Asen.

"What don't you like here?"

"Well, the situation, I feel depressed."

Asen's room is on the top floor of one of the buildings. "The rooms are nice, not bad, but there is no glass. The nighttime is cold, there is no lighting," explains Asen. Men do not have to turn off the lamp. When it rains, they feel the rain on their faces as they lie in bed. The toilet and bathroom are outside.

"In most homes there are no material conditions for this care to be provided. They are rarely provided with regular care by doctors, regular check-ups by a dentist, gynecologist, etc.," said Sofia Razboynikova, a human rights lawyer.

The men in Pastra are cared for by a general practitioner. There is no psychiatrist. Only twice a year are they examined by such a specialist. The director of the home, Asen Kosanov, is not a doctor, but a nurse. "Patients who are not in the acute stage of the disease and are not treated in hospitals are accommodated here. They are on maintenance therapy here," says Asen Kosanov.

"Can they live in the city?"

"Yes, but we can't be sure that they will not react in a way that is dangerous to others."

"For example?"

"For example, some like to light fire, some like to riot."

Two years ago, Bulgarian and international human rights organisations signaled that the conditions in these homes were dangerous to the health of their occupants. The latest report of the European Commission states that in Bulgaria life in institutions for people with mental disabilities is difficult and inadequate, and rehabilitation and treatment are scarce.

"There are established cases of violence, there are even established cases of death due to malnutrition and frostbite, which are not being investigated, and this is an obligation of the Bulgarian state," Razboynikova said.

The home in Pastra has about 90 patients and 36 staff. Whispering, the workers said that among these men there was a mathematician, an engineer, several teachers and philologists. None of the men dared to speak to us alone, as if there were no strangers in the house.

"What do the men do during the day?"

"Most often get they baked in the sun when the weather allows. 10-15 people help the people in the neighboring village, but the main part is them just sitting", answered Asen Kosanov.

In Pastra, Asen tries to feel at home, but his eyes remain dark and his lips whisper only one plea: "If they can let me go, let me go from here, forever!"

The center

The "Adaptation" Mental Health Center is located in a house in the center of Sofia. The chefs in the kitchen are "customers" of the center. These are people with mental health problems who are also in remission like the residents of the home in the village of Pastra. They can choose how to spend part of their free time — for example, shopping, or preparing a delicious meal, talking over a cup of tea or coffee, arguing or doing something in the art therapy group. Each of them comes to the center after a conversation with a psychiatrist, psychologist or personal doctor.

Nikoleta chooses a cooking group. She says: "I was left completely alone, without a job, without a family, without a mother and I came here to find a social environment. Here I meet people with my illness and we are very tolerant of each other. I find a greater understanding, I feel calmer."

"When we come in the morning, we all get together and decide what to cook. Just yesterday we decided on stuffed peppers, but the peppers are not good and we decided to make mish-mash," explains an elderly woman.

The program has existed for two years. In the first year, the money was provided by a non-governmental organisation. Now the participants continue to come to the kitchen and each of them sets aside 50 stotinki or a levche to buy the products. "We plan a certain price and buy. The important thing is that we gather here and are together. We eat together. We can also cook at home, but here we are together and we have more fun, we don't feel isolated" , shared Nikoleta.

The day center is one of the models for caring for people with mental health problems in the community — close to their homes and families.

"What do you talk about most often?"

"We often talk about what we will cook. But sometimes we complain about what happened to whom. What other people can't stand, we put up with. Something like group therapy", Nicoleta answers.

"Weeks ago, Elena had a birthday. We made a cake, soup, played music, danced. There is no chaos with us, as some think. We have more order than in society. And no one screams or shouts", explained Nikoleta.

And next week she will meet her new friends at the center again and will feel useful: "I don't have a boss here who can traumatise me and scream at me. I feel better — it's like I'm going to work, but without a boss."

That there should be more such day care centers for people with mental health is written in the white paper for the Ministry of Health on the reform of psychiatric care in our country. So far, the few existing such day care centers are supported only by NGOs.