Update from Angie's Visit to Bulgaria

Hello Families! I bring greetings to you from the staff at Holt's Bulgarian Partner agency, Vesta and the staff from the Institutions we visited in Bulgaria .

I would like to share some news, which Abbie Smith, Holt's Waiting Child Program Director and I learned about on our recent trip to Bulgaria . I know many of you are anxious to discuss individual questions with me since I've returned. I hope this email will provide you with some information while you wait for me to respond to your email or phone message as promptly as I can. Thank you for your patience as I try to contact each of you who requested information from me while I was gone. I will do my best to contact you by the first of next week. If we already have a phone appointment, I will contact you at that set time. If you would like a phone appointment, please feel free to email me with days and times good for you and I will do my best to set one up most likely for next week.

I am also attaching and sending pictures in additional emails for you to get an idea of the sights we saw during our trip. I am sending them in emails, but please be aware and sensitive to our agreement with the Bulgarian government, which states we will only be sharing pictures of children with Holt families and we will not put any photos on the internet or websites. Our relationship and program in Bulgaria could be jeopardized if this agreement is violated. Thank you for being respectful of this request.

Abbie and I arrived to Sofia Bulgaria on Friday October 17th. We traveled, accompanied by our Vesta partner, Petko Butev, almost 1000 kilometers (over 620 miles) from Sofia , Bulgaria 's capital to Turgovishte, Kaspichan, Varna (on the Black Sea ), Dobrich, and Shoumen. I'm pleased to say our visit to Bulgaria exceeded my expectations and has gotten me excited about the potential for Holt's Bulgaria Program.

We visited five institutions (4 baby homes, children 0-3 years and one orphanage for children 3-5 years). We met and interacted with many children, as well as meeting with orphanage directors and their staff. They informed us and showed us the standards of care for children in their institutions, as well as observed the consistency with what they said with how the caregivers provide care to the children.

While we visited just five of the approximately 100 institutions in all of Bulgaria , the care is reported to be standardized across the country for all institutions. The variances seen in the care of children from institution to institution appeared to depend on the orphanage director's areas of focus, the number of children in the orphanage, and the immediate community's support to the institution. Regardless of some variances, the orphanages we visited, while varying slightly, all provided good care to the children living there. We observed the children playing, smiling, laughing, dancing, and of course, eating and taking naps.

We further developed our relationship with our Vesta Staff, and met with Bulgaria 's Deputy Minister of Justice, Ilonka Raichinova. Milena Kouseva, attorney and CEO of Vesta is currently working with the Ministry of Justice to draft a new family code, amending the law favorably for adoption practices, including children with special needs. If the new family code is approved, it will be implemented January 1, 2009 .

During our meeting with the Deputy Minister, we learned some good information. There are approximately 1,500 children currently registered in their database. Many of these children (more boys than girls) are over the age of 4 years old. We learned 60-70% of children in need of families are between 5-9 years old, and many children will have a variety of special needs, varying from minor to major.

An update on time frames: Once a family has received their registration number, the approximate wait will vary depending on age of child requested:
2-3 year old: 24-36 months
3-5 year old: 12-18 months
5-8 year old: less than 12 months

Families open to any special need, ranging from minor and correctible to major will likely reduce the wait from the timeframes listed above, depending on how many conditions and the severity of the conditions they are open to.

Overall, I have been motivated by the tireless care and work being done for children living in institutional care in Bulgaria . Even when adoptions slowed and most US agencies had to withdraw from adoptions in Bulgaria, Vesta and these institutions continued to find creative and innovative ways to continue the good, quality care to children. The care I observed over the last week reflected the sacrifice and commitment these individuals have to the children in their care. And the proof is in the smiles and laughter observed in the children.

The people in Bulgaria caring for children have clearly made a difference in the lives of their children for today. The question that resonated in my heart as I looked into the wide, hopeful eyes of the children was, "what about tomorrow?" Who will make a difference in their future? As good as any institution can be--they are still institutions. Children need families. Each one of these children need their very own family to make a difference in their tomorrow, and each day after that.

We know making a difference to even one child can make a ripple effect which can reach wider than we would ever imagine. The world can be a small place and some things need no translation. What I experienced during this trip bridged language, nationality, and culture. What I saw was the commitment to the best interest of children. While there are still improvements to be made and advocacy needed with those in power, there is no doubt the people we met have a heart and dedication for helping children in Bulgaria who need families. This is something Holt understands all too well, and I am excited Holt is once again able to a part of the existing good work to help the children in Bulgaria .

I look forward to discussing my trip more with you soon.

Warmly,
Angie Wharfield