Bulgaria Ski discussion board

I have just read your post re visiting the orphanages. I like yourself have been visiting orphanages and fundraising for the past 20 years. (mainly Shiroka Laka) Before i visit my ski instructor calls the Director to let her know we are coming we have never been turned away from any orphanage and like yourself are always welcomed by smiling faces. We have raised a large amount of money but do not talk about it or make a big issue about it.( like yourselves again) I think you are doing a wonderful job and should be able to drop in at any orphanage when authorised by the Director!!! Keep up the great work that you your family and Rumy are doing.

Thankyou Sally for your support - I really am a novice at this type of work and have no were near as much experience as yourselve. We love bulgaria and intend to visit there every year. I feel so strongly about helping as we stay only a few miles away from both orphanages. I sometimes feel guilty as we are in our warm beds at night, eating and drinking and having fun. I can honestly say that all the children last week every night were never far away from my thoughts. On Sunday the temperatures were -22 and I would have loved to taken them all to our lovely warm apartment to stay! I was so pleased that it really started to warm up - even if it meant the snow was melting! I am hoping that Rumy and her husband Stoyan will come to Ireland in October to be part of our next fund raising evening - so that we I can present them with as much money as possible. I dont want to leave until our next trip as I want the money to be put to use right away. Our visit upset me and some of our party in more ways than one, we however kept a stiff upper lip and the experience made us all the more determined! Its such a pleasure to be associated with Rumy as she is a Bulgarian National and its great that she is nearby and doing a fantastic job.
Thanks Again.

Hi Sally,

re your comment "We have raised a large amount of money but do not talk about it or make a big issue about it.( " I am not sure what or who you are referring to but can I just say that if we had not made a big issue about this then these children would not be receiving the help that they have from all the people on here.
I have in fact been in touch with Sheila via email so will not discuss this here.
All I can say is that all orphanages are different, some of the directors welcome outsiders, some do not. I have heard of a director who actually took donations and sold them in her second hand shop! One cannot judge or critiscise others.
Before I met Amanda I too turned up without an appointment at Shiroka Luka orphanage with my husband with lots of clothes etc., and was welcomed by the staff . We took a note in Bulgarian to apologise for turning up unannounced, but we did not know any other way to hand over our stuff. S.Luka has had lots of help from so many sources and they are used to people visiting. Stoikite has had no help and are not used to people visiting.
Amanda may upset a lot of people by what she writes but she has her reasons and I think we should respect them - until such time as there are more staff and perhaps a different director! We can all think we are doing the right thing but Amanda is there on the ground, dealing with all the crap from the authorities, trying to be there to help the children and seeing all their heartache - so who are we to judge.
I have not visited Stoikite yet, just because I handed over some clothes this did not give me the right to assume that I could go there and make things awkward for Amanda. This did not stop Andie, Pete or myself from wanting to help or most of the people on this forum - at the end of the day it is not about us it is about the children.
I hope this does not come across as me being aggressive, just trying to explain.

Carole

Carole

I know the amount of money this site has raised for the kids and i think it is fantastic. I did not intend to upset Amanda but to say some visitors think that a visit to the orphanage is like a "day out or visit to the zoo" is a wee bit hurtful. As for dealing with the Bulgarian authorities we brought a child to London for heart surgery 2 years ago so i have dealt with a lot of crap! Anyway the kids are the main issue here so please keep donating and again i did not mean to offend anyone especially Amanda.

Sally, no offence taken. I have not spoken to Amanda for a couple of days and she is having an important meeting today re the orphanage. I have been in contact with Sheila, and in the circumstances I agree , on this occasion, it was a bad choice of words. However, I think it was a case of crossed wires, Amanda was so stressed and upset about Slavcho together with a mass of other things to deal with and the last time people turned up on their own Amanda got into trouble with the director.
Just want people to understand that every orphanage is different and we have to respect the wishes of the director and staff and try not to upset them - work with them and not against them.

Carole