VT Times, May 2012

When children in care reach 18 they cease
to be wards of state and must leave, find work,
accommodation and support themselves. Many
return to their families, some to the same abusive
situations, and a few go on to university. One
girl, whom we shall call May, turned eighteen in
January and so had to leave the Centre. A Sofia
based Bulgarian charity paid three months rent
on a basic apartment and equipment for May and
another girl. The other girl returned to her abusive
husband, so May now lives alone. She needs to pay
bills, rent and to feed herself, but work is scarce.
May is intelligent and creative and wants to be a
pathologist. Her spoken English is good and she
intends to sit her English Matura, hoping to go to
university in the near future. Priateli and the Real
English School are providing English lessons and
Oxhab - another English charity - is providing
individual lessons. The only job available to May
is factory work which means long hours, making
lessons impossible. Priateli has provided financial
support in return for May’s help in the Priateli
shop. This, hopefully, will enable her to study while
the viability of a university course is explored.
Priateli’s shop, believed to be the first charity
shop in Bulgaria, is at 29B Bulgaria Boulevard
(going towards KAT) on the left, just below Ethno
restaurant and next door to what was Piraeus Bank.
Here volunteers receive and distribute donations
of clothing and sell the items that aren’t suitable for
the institutions supported. The money is used to
pay the running costs of the shop with any excess
going back into charity funds. Everyone is welcome
for a visit or a chat, with or without a donation.
Money is raised in many ways. Priateli’s regular
pub quizzes and raffles are very popular. Barbecues
and a hog roast have been held at Camping Veliko
Tarnovo for the last two years and were a huge
success. Alan Haywood did a sponsored bungee
jump last year; this year Mick Weavers has offered
to compile a number of family trees for people
in return for a donation to Priateli … many
people help in many ways. In addition, expats
and Bulgarians give cash donations, including
Vasil Dimitrov, who regularly donates 10% of his
earnings. Priateli are incredibly grateful to all.
Future projects
Priateli has been offered the use of the Beer
Garden at Dobromirka (some 40km from VT
towards Sofia). This gives the charity a base in the
Pavlikeni/Sevlievo area, attracting a new group of
people and more fundraising events.
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Priateli is now in an exciting partnership with the
department of architecture at Sheffield University.
Students there built an adventure playground in
Romania last year and will now raise money, then
research and design an adventure playground/
sensory garden for the children at Alen Mak
kindergarten in Gorna Oryahovitsa with Priateli’s
support. This will enable the inclusion of disabled
children in outdoor play at the kindergarten, in line
with EU legislation.
Government policy is to close all orphanages
within the next eight years. Children will be
fostered or returned to their natural families. The
number of children at Balvan has halved since
Chris first visited four years ago and, thanks to EU
funding, the buildings have improved enormously.
But children still need shoes, toys, Christmas
presents and medical care beyond the basic
‘life or death’ care provided by the government,
together with occasional luxuries which we take
for granted - trips to the swimming pool, bowling
alley or cinema. Priateli will continue to support
local orphanages and, thanks to the generosity of
its supporters, can widen the scope of its work.
More equipment for local kindergartens is needed
and the Home for Disabled Women in Draganovo
village is in need of support - amongst other things
clothing is needed so donations of good, clean
second-hand ladies’ clothes will be very welcome at
the Priateli shop.
For more information please visit www.priatelivt.com