“It was the happiest day of my life, when I took my boy back” – Ivan* and Stoyan’s* story

Thanks to your donations, Stoyan rescued his only son from an orphanage. Read on for their journey back to family. 

Stoyan* will never forget the night Ivan*, his three-year-old son, was taken from him. 

“A policeman came to the door and entered my home without asking and just took him. No warning, no support”, he remembers. “It was terrible.” 

Ivan had cerebral palsy, and the authorities decided Stoyan, a single dad on low income, wasn’t fit to care for him. As a result, Ivan spent two years inside an orphanage. Lonely. Afraid. Until people like you brought him safely back to family. 

The pain of separation 

Overnight, Stoyan’s life changed forever. After his wife left, he’d worked night and day to care for their son. But now, everything was ripped away. 
 
“It was horrible”, Stoyan remembers. “I’m a labourer and I was working 12 to 15 hours a day because I couldn’t sleep. My friend told me, ‘If you carry on like this, you’ll kill yourself.’ I was waking up in the night and crying because Ivan wasn’t with me.” 

“I was waking up in the night and crying because Ivan wasn’t with me.” 

Sadly, Ivan was suffering too.

Inside the orphanage 

Ivan spent the next two years heavily medicated. Confined to a cot in a darkened room on the top floor of the orphanage, he’d wait for his dad to visit. 

“The institution would allow me to visit only once a week for 15 minutes, between 1030 and 1130 when Ivan was tired and hungry”, Stoyan remembers. And worse, every time he came, he saw his boy’s condition getting worse. 

“How was the care? Total zero care,” he recalls. “They tied him into a wheelchair. Before then, Ivan was beginning to stand and walk with support and he had started to speak. He could say mummy and daddy.” 

“They tied him to a wheelchair.” 

For two years, Stoyan fought a lonely battle against red-tape, prejudice and indifference. The odds were stacked against him.

“First, if I take my boy home, the institution loses income”, he explains. “Then, even when I went to court and won full custody of my son, the institution just ignored it.” 

Ivan was stuck.  

Family first 

Ivan’s experience is all too common. Around the world, 80% of the 5.4 million children in orphanages have living parents. And one in three children in orphanages have disabilities. 

One in three children in orphanages have disabilities. 

European Disability Forum

The one-size-fits-all model of institutional care doesn’t help children. It harms them. Above all, children need love, care and personal attention. Something even the “best” orphanages can’t provide. 

Stoyan knew he had to get his boy home. And thanks to your generosity, he found the help he needed. 

The fight begins for Stoyan

Since 2011, our team in Bulgaria has been working to close orphanages and bring children living inside back to family. Children like Ivan.

Elitsa Ivanova, one of our support workers, discovered Ivan’s case, and immediately started working to help Stoyan. 

“The local child protection department lied to him,” Elitsa remembers. “They kept setting him tasks and challenges but when he met them, each time the authorities let him down again. Because he is a man on his own, people could not see him as the parent for a child with a disability.” 

“Because he is a man on his own, people could not see him as the parent for a child with a disability. 

Elitsa knew that Stoyan was a loving father. She knew all he needed was some help. And thanks to your support, that’s what he finally received. Help. 

Helping Stoyan change the tide

Your donations helped Stoyan convince the authorities he was the best option for Ivan. They helped him find a better place to live, as well as all the essentials he needed to support Ivan and his disabilities.

With your help, and Elitsa’s team by his side, Stoyan brought Ivan back to family. 

“It was the happiest day of my life, when I took my boy back,” Stoyan remembers. “Now, we like to do everything together. He is very affectionate, he hugs and kisses me. He likes my stubbly chin so I don’t shave for him!”

Read more about how your donations help parents bring their children back to family.

Looking to the future

Today, Ivan’s doing much better. Stoyan says he has seen a rapid improvement since Ivan stopped taking the drugs that were prescribed by the institution. Now, he can stand and walk by himself, and is slowly learning to speak again. 

When we asked Stoyan about the challenges he faces, he told us simply, “There are no challenges now. I just love my boy and I am not interested in anything else.” 

“There are no challenges now. I just love my boy and I am not interested in anything else.” 

Thank you

Thanks to your continued support, our team was able to support more children like Ivan – standing up for their right to a loving, family home. Today, the orphanage has been shut down. And that’s all thanks to your help.

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