New beginnings: How you helped bring Ivanka* back to family

Earlier this year, our team in Bulgaria closed another orphanage in Kardjali, bringing up to 40 children back to family or into family-based alternative care solutions.

Last month, your donations changed lives. Because of your continued generosity, our team successfully shut down the ‘Home for Medical and Social Care for Children’ orphanage in Kardjali, South Bulgaria. Now, there are only three institutions left. And we’re going to close them all.

Behind every story of an orphanage closure are the stories of the children living inside. Stories of the parents they were separated from. Of their happiness when they finally came back to family.

Stories like Ivanka’s.

Meet Ivanka

When Ivanka was born, her mum, Elena*, didn’t know what to do. She was struggling to get by, and single by the time Ivanka was three months old. Elena was only 16.

Ivanka needed surgery, but Elena was too unwell to care for her. Her grandmother, Petya*, did everything she could to help, but Ivanka’s health became critical. The authorities found out. Quickly, they sent her to live in the ‘Home for Medical and Social Care for Children’ orphanage nearby. She was just a baby.

Why do children get placed in orphanages?

Like Ivanka, 80% of children in orphanages aren’t actually orphans. They’ve been separated from their families. Families who just needed help.

Lack of access to medical support is a key driver of family separation. Instead of getting the support they need, struggling parents have their children taken away and placed in institutions. 

Just like what happened to Ivanka.

Find out more about how children end up in orphanages.

Life inside the orphanage

Up to 40 children lived at Ivanka’s orphanage. Several had disabilities and needed round-the-clock care. There was no laughter, no joy.

“I always have a picture in my mind of this orphanage,” says Kremena Stoyanova, National Coordinator for Hope and Homes for Children South Bulgaria. “Long and very wide corridors and a rehabilitation therapist holding the hand of a two-year-old child. Footsteps clanging in the empty space. Those sounds in the darkness are the picture I want to erase.” 

“Those sounds in the darkness are the picture I want to erase.” 

But that’s not the worst part. Institutional care exposes children to violence, abuse and neglect. As a result, for every three months spent in an orphanage, children lose one month’s development.

That’s why we work to bring children back to family.

Find out more about how orphanages harm children.

Bringing Ivanka back to family

Thanks to your donations, our team started helping Ivanka’s family to bring her home.

Elena attended parenting classes, and Petya was supported to find a new job, renovate the home, and create a new safe space for her granddaughter. With our team by their side, we worked with the local authorities to bring Ivanka out of the orphanage and back to family.

But our work doesn’t end there.

Sustainable change

It’s one thing bringing children back to family. It’s another to ensure they’ll stay there. Working with Elena and Petya, we created an action plan for Ivanka’s long-term care. Elena agreed it would be best for Ivanka to grow up with her grandmother.

Thanks to your donations, we helped Petya become a foster parent, inviting her to training sessions while providing emotional and financial support to the family as they adapted to the change.

Now, everything’s different. Ivanka’s three years old, happy and healthy, and growing up with her grandmother. Elena visits all the time, bonding with her daughter while making money to support herself. And Petya couldn’t be happier with a new baby in her home.

Shutting down the orphanage

We’ve been working on closing the ‘Home for Medical and Social Care for Children’ orphanage in Kardjali since 2015. This year, after nearly a decade of hard work, we completed the process.

Thanks to your support, each of the children living inside – including Ivanka – were either brought back to family, or into family-based alternative care solutions. You can read more about the full process here.

What’s next?

Riding on our success, our team in Bulgaria is gearing up for the next big win. With your support, we’re ready to shut down the last three orphanages in the country and bring every child home to a loving family.

But we can’t do it without you.

Will you help us close the last remaining orphanages in Bulgaria and bring the children living inside back to family? Donate today.