The Faith, Hope & Love Children’s Centre (Detski Centúr Viara, Nadezhda i Liubov)

The Faith, Hope and Love Centre (FHL) is located in a residential suburb- Nadejda - in the north of Sofia and is easy to reach using the bus no. 85 from the Lion’s Bridge (luvov most) near the centre of town, or by taxi. FHL operates as a day centre and night shelter for street children aged 3-16, and although it has capacity to accommodate up to 31 children per night, there are currently (Nov 2008) only nine children - five girls and four boys – living at the home. In addition to shelter, food and clothing, health and educational support, the centre also offers a range of extra-curricular activities such as Tai Kwondo lessons (led by a volunteer on a weekly basis), as well as much-needed opportunities for re-integration into society. Being run by the Free and Democratic Bulgaria Society, in partnership with British Charity Child Hope UK, FHL is relatively well-resourced with some toys, puzzles and books available for the children to use, a room for sport activities, as well as a TV and video player, and a garden area with play equipment. The children really enjoy attention, taking great care with any craft activities and joining in enthusiastically with games.

History

Established under the auspices of the ‘Free and Democratic Bulgaria Foundation’, the organisation has set up this home to offer shelter to young street children in the capital, mostly from the Roma minority. We visited the centre with a Bulgarian lady called Zhivka Vassileva, the program co-ordinator - she would be the point of contact for volunteers. She speaks very good English and was able to tell us a great deal about each of the homes.

The problems faced by the older children include drug addiction, sexually transmitted diseases, lack of education and high unemployment. Although we did not visit the shelter for older children, there is a possibility that MCAB volunteers could work with the older age group, perhaps visiting and spending time with the youths while based at the shelter for younger children.

The shelter for 3-12yr olds was tucked away in a residential area in the north of the city, Nadezhda-dve, surrounded by blocks of flats. It can accommodate 31 children per night and has separate dormitories for girls and boys. ‘Child Hope UK’ train their 16 members of staff (including a nurse) who work in shifts. We were introduced to a man called Alexander Molinski (known as ‘Sasho’), who oversees the child care. He is very enthusiastic about the volunteers visiting the centre, and in previous years volunteers have been used to provide the extra staff required to go on summer camp to the Rila Mountains, and go on trips around the capital - for example to Sofia Zoo.

Facilities include several large rooms suitable for indoor activities, a ping-pong table, T.V. and video, basket-ball court and play area (with climbing frame and swings), and a room with desks and a black-board. There is also a park nearby that would offer an opportunity for volunteers to organise other activities and take the children out for ice-cream etc.

The daily routine is as follows:

• 8.00pm get up, make beds, morning exercise.
• 9.30 Breakfast
• Compulsory classes until lunch-time
• 12.30 lunch
• Children free to do as they please in the afternoon
• 4.00pm snack, followed by games in the yard
• 5.00pm T.V. (the children love soap-operas, and MTV!)
• 6.30pm Dinner, followed by free time
• 9.30pm-10pm bed time.

Possibilities for volunteers’ involvement include outreach to local Roma settlements and accompanying the children on a day trip or summer camp to the mountains (in Summer 2001 the children swam in a mountain stream, went on a walk across the mountains to another village, and played football against the village team, among other things). ‘Outward-bound’ style activities would be ideal for this camp, which takes place in a disused ski centre near Samakov in the beautiful Rila Mountains a couple of hours’ drive south of the city. The summer camp usually takes place in June or July.

Trip Reports:

Summer 2006 Summer 2004 Summer 2002 Summer 2001

Last updated: February 25th, 2009