Thousands of children are abandoned in Bulgaria because of the parents’ inability to cope with looking after them.
Often it is financial pressures which lie at the root cause, and there are currently more than 10,000 institutionalised youngsters in the East European country.
Now Rotary London is gearing up for a major fundraiser later this autumn for what it calls the BABA Project.
The club, which is also active in Bolivia, South Africa, Nepal and Uganda, is hosting a black tie, three-course dinner at the East India Club in St James’s Square, London on Saturday, November 10th.
NoNo Hardy is chair of the International Service Committee at Rotary London.
Babas are retired ladies, usually retired school teachers or social workers, people who know the needs of children.”
She explained that the BABA Project is sponsored by Rotary London and Sofia Serdika, along with a small charity called the Tabitha Foundation, which specialises in child care.
She pointed out that without their help, many of the younger children will spend a larger part of their day alone in their cots and many of the older children are psychologically disturbed.
“Babas are retired ladies, usually retired school teachers or social workers, people who know the needs of children,” said NoNo.
“They live on modest pensions but who, when given a little extra funding, can be relied on to take these children into their own homes to experience a little family normality and even become the babas the children never had.
“The Tabitha Foundation monitors the project in Bulgaria. Currently the needs of 400 children and young adults have benefited from this scheme.”
As a thank you, the Sofia club has obtained a quantity of their famous Bulgarian Rose Water, branded Rotary, which will be available at the meal.
For more information, contact NoNo Hardy.
