Am I a Dream or Am I Real – Children’s Home for Medical and Social Care “St. Ivan Rilski”, Sofia

The project “Am I a Dream or Am I Real” has been carried out in the children’s home for medical and social care(HMSCC) “St. Ivan Rilski” in Sofia since October 1, 2013. AfterCHMSC “St. Paraskeva” was closed and the same project was successfully completed there, the related services and activities were relocated at CHMSC “St. Ivan Rilski”. The Bulgarian Mothers’ Movement (DBM) and CHMSC “St. Ivan Rilski” signed a contract for a period, during which DBM were to provide the financing. There are currently 70 children in HMSCC “St. Ivan Rilski” and half of them have disabilities. Special needs pedagogue Rositsa Lazova is to work with part of these children. She is currently the only person employed by DBM to work with the new children. Our activities at HMSCC “St. Ivan Rilski” will remain unchanged from what they were during the past three years at HMSCC “St. Paraskeva”.

Information on the completed project at HMSCC “St. Paraskeva”.

http://www.fdbm.org/en/projects_article_4.html

By providing additional and specially qualified staff for HMSCC “St. Ivan Rilski”, we are helping the children housed there reach the development level of their peers growing up in family environment.

Donate to the bank account of our foundation or send a short message to 17 777 with text DMS GRIJA, so that there are more children smiling! Please specify what the donation should be spent on.

More information about DMS (Donors Message Service) is available at:

http://dmsbg.com/index.php?page=4&spage=1&item=419&p=0

* Please note that the DMS number is active only for the three Bulgarian mobile operators - M-Tel, Globul and Vivatel. 

In order to further upport the project, we need 40 000 BGN a year. Donate to our bank account so that that there are more children smiling! Please specify what the donation should be spent on.

First Investment Bank

BIC:  FINVBGSF
IBAN:  BG15FINV91501200148846

Bulgarian Mothers’ Movement Foundation, for HMSCC “St. Ivan Rilski”

The project is traditionally financed by the Christmas Charity Bazaars organized by the Bulgarian Mothers’ Movement in Sofia. These funds, however, are insufficient so we call upon donor to also join our DMS campaign (short message DMS GRIJA to number 17 777) so that the project can be sustained.

This year the funds raised by the Christmas Charity Bazaar in Mall Sofia totalled 2150 BGN.

 

Project for Support of HMSCC “St. Ivan Rilski”, Sofia, Housing Children from 0 to 3 Yrs

Why did we start this project?

- According to a research carried out in Bulgaria, every day a child spends in an institution slows down his/her development and results in deficiencies that can hardly be overcome.

- Children raised in normal family environment develop their individuality and receive love, support and understanding. Children housed in institutions receive warm food three times a day and chocolate for Christmas. They have no idea what a mother’s caress is.

-  The main problems in institutions are caused by the large number of children and the very organization of work, which does not allow individual care adapted to the children’s specific needs. Children in institutions are raised in groups, with no individual plans for their future.

- HMSCC “St. Ivan Rilski” and the Foundation of the Bulgarian Mothers’ Movement have been working together since October 2013, following the successful completion of the project with HMSCC “St. Paraskeva”. The project aims to ensure a cozy environment for the children, improve the material basis and overcome the isolation in which these children live.

- The number of staff in the institution is insufficient to provide the children with the needed attention, care, good physical and mental health, emotional support and family-like environment.

- The lack of sufficient qualified staff to work with the children with special needs in the home worsens the impact of their disabilities. As a result their chances to be socialized, adopted or housed with a foster family are close to zero.

How is the project carried out?

-          The Foundation of the Bulgarian Mothers’ Movement provides a qualified pedagogue to work with the disabled children in the institution four hours a day. The pedagogue trains them, carries out rehabilitation on a daily basis, takes care of their needs and renders an account of the efficiency of his/her work, as well as the progress accomplished jointly with the social pedagogue of the home.

-          The Bulgarian Mothers’ Movement provides also three assistant-educators who help the staff in their day-to-day care for the children – food, toilet, cultivating certain hygienic habits, participating in games and activities, accompanying children to hospitals when needed, taking them out for walks, theatre and other entertainment.

What are the goals of the project?

-          Children raised in institutions progress slower physically and psychologically, compared to their peers raised in family environment. The project helps improve the development of these children who lack appropriate conditions because of their social isolation or insufficient human resources.

-          One of the most important goals of the project is to help the development of some children with specific problems so that they can integrate better with other children at their age.

-          Raising and bringing up children is a complicated, difficult and very responsible activity. The emotional contact with children is an important factor for their overall development. Children need love. They crave for being utterly and unconditionally loved. The lack of caresses, the lack of respect and acknowledgement of the child’s individuality and his/her need to feel significant for the close people, lead to diminished self-esteem and a number of potential problems in the child’s further development. Providing additional staff and people who can be significant grown-ups for every child individually, we would like to change the situation. We want every child to feel the love and support they have the right to.

-          The children housed in HMSCC “St. Ivan Rilski” should receive a natural and adequate environment, where they can be raised, brought up and taken care of, by means of the connection child – adult, adult – child.