Bulgarian Child, Inc.
Love and
Loaves to Those in Need
7522 Campbell Rd. - St. 113 - 172 - Dallas, TX
June 2003 Trip
Bogdanovo
Bogdanovo is one of two "Internat" schools that lie within the
boundries of the Obshtina Nova Zagora and are now fully the
responsibility of this "county". (The other is
Radevo).
These are primarily
"boarding" schools where the kids attend school and live here
during the school year but go home during the summer.
These two schools represent the worst of what Bulgaria has
to offer in terms of facilities. These buildings are
old, worn, crowded places with no central heat and, in the
case of Bogdanovo, only two showers for their population of
100 kids. (Radevo has one!)
The bedrooms are the most crowded that I've
encountered with little room to even walk between the beds.
Zachary Ridgway (translator, photographer,
friend) took this picture by standing on the top bunk in the
corner of this room. There are 16 beds in this tiny room
and absolutely NO room for any personal items of any kind.
Since clothing is simply exchanged once a
week there is little need for storage as there is no spare
clothing.
While this looks like a typical classroom (note the bare walls
and ancient desks, what isn't immediately apparent is that the
fixtures along the wall are "drop-down" beds for young
children.
This room does double duty as a classroom and
bedroom for 25 children.
These "lockers" are really beds that fold
down for younger kids - 25 kids are crammed into this small
space.
What this picture can't convey is the smell
of mildew and the dust from the coal heating stove which was
behind the photographer.
Everything needs painting but even if it were
completely painted, one year from now it would look the same
as the heat is so dirty.
Desks in the classroom are in terrible shape
- broken chairs and desks are the norm. The fixtures are
not really even safe to use.
There are no bathrooms on the floor with the kids and toilets
are only available outside.
There is only one shower that is
made available to the kids. The second shower is only
for the use of "sick" kids. Even so, there are only two
showers available for 100 kids.
Meals for 100 children are served in this
cafeteria in two shifts. There is little refrigeration
and always a need for food. The allocation here is 64
stotinki/day (about 40 cents) per child which must take care
of all of their expenses.
Despite all of the hardships these kids (who
had no place to go for the summer) showed a great spirit and
friendliness and welcomed us with smiles.
Thanks to Dave & Mary Elmstrom (Peace Corps
Volunteers), we met with the Nova Zagora Rotary Club and have
established a relationship with them. I'm hopeful that
we'll be able to do a joint project with them during this
coming year for both Radevo and Bogdanovo.
Needs
This school has overwhelming needs (as with
Radevo) - the most serious one being space. The 100 kids
in this one building are crowded at every turn and have little
to occupy themselves with during non-school hours.
