The Children

Bob and Naomi with some of the children


Rob with the Children


The young teenagers

New beds and furniture for the Orphanage

New beds for the Orphanage

This year, we were able to buy some new beds, tables, chairs and a couple of sofas with the money raised from the sponsored pyjama day - this will make a real difference to the quality of life in the Orphanage.


New sofa and table

The 2004 H4H Team in Bulgaria

The 2004 H4H Team in Bulgaria



North West Bulgaria. Berkovitsa can be found in the middle of the map.

New Washing Machine and Tumble Drier for the Orphanage

A new washing machine and tumble dryer have now been installed at the Orphanage. This will make a considerable differerence to the quality of life for both the children and the staff who run the laundry.

Orphanage Director with new Washing Machine

Jason Ringrose for sale by Auction

Last October due to the support of my business I was able to take part in voluntary work to improve conditions in the “Berkovitsa Orphanage” in Bulgaria.

Bulgaria, like all countries has its developed and less developed areas. Many people will be familiar with the areas where tourism has brought money and prosperity. I have visited the parts in, and beyond, the mountains North West of Sofia where this prosperity hasn’t reached. In these places the subsidised heavy industry of the communist days has completely died leaving whole communities with no employment or source of income. There is desperate poverty.

The legacy of communism has left other major problems. The treatment of people with special needs, those with physical or mental disabilities, was poor. Many people will remember television pictures from Romania after the iron curtain came down showing how these people were treated: locked in rooms with no stimulation, simply having the most basic of physical needs attended to. Romania has since seen a great deal of improvement, with many Western charities carrying out work in the country and the Country’s government itself rising to that challenge of improving conditions in preparation for its entry into the EU. Bulgaria hasn’t seen the same level of attention. In Bulgaria there are still places where children with special needs are treated like animals and are sat staring at walls all day, every day with only the most basic of care.

H4H, the group that I chose to work with are well aware that we can’t take all of the issues on. We are seeking to help improve conditions at the Berkovitsa Orphange to help it become a model of how others should be, a beacon.

Berkovitsa doesn’t have special needs children, it isn’t one of the most desperate places but it is desperate all the same. Its Director seeks to provide accommodation, food, clothing, and education to its children, all for a few pence per child per day.

The term orphanage is actually not quite right, most of the children in the school (which is the term that the Director uses) do have parents who are living and they actually regularly return home. The problem is that the parents are not able, either physically or economically to provide for their children at home so they have to apply to the government for them to attend one of the Orphanages. How desperate must that be, I cannot even imagine how that must feel, not to be able to care for and provide for your children.

The orphanage is in a very poor condition, even though it is one of the better ones. Up until last winter the children were using a disgusting outside pit for a toilet (you can see it and the new toilet block on www.theorphanage.co.uk. The accommodation is stark and furnishings are sparse and falling apart. On a tour around the place we opened one of the children’s lockers and it fell to pieces. All of the windows around the place were made up of 3 or 4 slats of glass wedged together in the frame, with the wind howling through. Last year we replaced all of the glass in the classrooms with whole panes. At least the lessons should be warmer now during the winter. Cables hang from the ceilings and where there are light fittings there is one bulb in every third socket, another sign of the poverty.

H4H wants Berkovitsa Orphanage to be a beacon to other orphanages, to encourage and support improvement in them. This year we are looking to improve the laundry facilities and to provide better facilities and equipment for sports and education.

The Laundry room heater has seen better days!!!

Which finally gets me to the point of this report (besides raising your awareness):

Jason Ringrose for sale by Auction

There is an opportunity for someone, or a group of people (the more money the better) to buy me for 12 hours. I will do whatever within the constraints of the Law and my marriage vows. As a suggestion I could cook and serve dinner to a group of people who have bought me.

Description
· 35 year old ex rugby player, own teeth but no hair.

Skills:
· Traditional Indian Cookery (taught by Pushpa Mistry)
· Other cookery
· DIY, decorating, basic electrical work
· For people who I have annoyed at some time or other – pay enough and you can get me back by having me labour all day cleaning out horses and such like.

Constraints:
· Probably needs to be based in South (or travel costs added)
· Needs to be legal
· Marriage vows

How to Bid

Email bid details to bidforjason@aol.com closing date 15th October 2004

Please Include:

• Bid value
• Name
• Contact details and the sort of activity you want Jason to do

Bids Received

£110 by Jackie Olsen , to spend 12 hours tidying up her front garden so she can sell her house. Job includes laying a front path, fitting a fence panel and some general pruning and tidying up! £50 by Mrs Rosemary Leno, of Chelmsford to entertain and cook for her children for the day.

Dormitory Needs

Another area of great need is the condition of the bedding and general décor in the dormitories.

After hearing about this, young people from Springfield Park Baptist, Holy Trinity Springfield and Church of our Saviour decided to have a sponsored “Pyjama Day” to raise money for new bedding. The young people were sponsored to wear pyjamas all day on a Sunday. This included attendance at church in the morning, a trip to McDonalds and finally attendance at Central Baptist church for the monthly evening “Synergy” service. Here, a short presentation was given on the needs of the orphanage.

An amazing total of just over £2200 was raised.

Not your average teenager’s bedroom!!!!

As well as providing new matresses and bedding, the team also plan to decorate some of the bedrooms and replace any broken panes of glass in the windows.

This years challenge

Once again, a team from Chelmsford will be travelling to Bulgaria this year in November to continue the refurbishment of the Orphanage.

Last year we redecorated 5 classrooms from top to bottom and replaced all the glass in the windows. While we were there, we were shown the laundry room and were shocked at the condition of the large washing machine and drying facilities.

As you can see, the machine is in a very sorry state of repair and desperately needs replacing. The whole laundry room needs redecorating / tiling and proper drying facilities like a tumble dryer. Many of the washed clothes were laid on top of radiators to dry and looked as though they had not even been cleaned.

Brown soiled socks after a wash in the machine.

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We are hoping to provide the orphanage with enough washing powder for 1 year.