REPORT ON TABITHA BULGARIA FOUNDATION’ S CHRISTMAS CAMPAIGN 2022
HAPPY, HEALTHY AND PROSPEROUS 2023 TO ALL OUR DONORS AND SUPPORTERS!
As ever, Tabitha Bulgaria Foundation is indebted to all donors, volunteers and friends for their efforts, kind understanding and commitment to the Bulgarian underprivileged children in the Eve of Christmas. Regardless of the financial crises, the soaring up inflation, the political restlessness we still managed to organize a great Christmas campaign. Thanks to our donors more than 600 children and young adults at over 30 Bulgarian social institutions were cheered up with presents and warm food for Christmas and the New Year’s Eve. Another 50 low-income senior people from Roman and the region were supported with winter packages, Christmas party, presents and fire wood. Our generous donor Max foundation(Nl) has provided means to buy stable food for the elder people in Roman every month, for a period of 6 months (November – April 2023).
In the last 13 years Stitching Promoties has held the Bulgarian underprivileged children’s fate at heart and allocated money for Christmas. Without their generous financial support, we would not have been able to launch the Christmas campaign. As ever we are especially grateful to Maarten Koel for his kind heart and personal involvement in the Christmas campaign for the social homes in Botevgrad, Borovan, Dren, Dupnitsa, Mezdra, Pleven, Roman, Samokov, Stara Zagora, Vratsa and Sofia.
Some of the institutions got extra donations from Tabitha Bulgaria’s partners. We would like to acknowledge the 22-years of support from Tabitha Netherlands and especially from the Boitens and the Board for their steady moral guidance and financial assistance which has enabled Tabitha Bulgaria Foundation to do its work and not fail the expectations of the less fortunate. We also want to thank G.O.A.L. Inc (UK) for their Christmas donation which provided additional Christmas support for four homes (Pleven, Roman, Dren and Samokov) and to acknowledge the active role of Jody Kerr, Alice Danesh and Emma Daw for their charity initiative. We would like to recognize the many-year dedication and ceaseless help of Bulgarian Orphan Fund (Ireland) at Christmas, especially of Catherine Barkley’s, her wonderful sister Miriam, relatives, friends and colleagues which made the children in Roman very happy. Thanks to their Christmas donation we provided food for the children for Christmas and New Year’s Eve dinners and brand new warm winter jackets.
The help of our families and friends was greatly appreciated. They gave us a hand in packing the presents for the social homes. We would like to recognize the help of our volunteers Eli, Yana Angelovas, the newlywed Philip and Krissi, Iliana Stoilova, Native Connection OOD and Kelsa Smith- Moushkourova, Capital Bars EOOD and Kalin Borisov and many others who helped us, make it through the Christmas campaign in December 2022. We are also thankful to Maria Soskova and her family for their financial support for Christmas. The regular New Year’s initiative of Ivan and Philip Matov and their friends who fund-raised 1404 BGN at their party at the Eve of 2023 was greatly appreciated!
Tabitha’s Christmas campaign was preceded by a lot of shopping, making presents , logistic and travelling by Tabitha’s team. Tabitha’s Christmas campaign was launched by our participation in SEWA Bazaar at the Ring Mall which was a warming up fundraising event. SEWA (Sofia Expats Women Association) gave us the opportunity to fundraise some money for the campaign.
TABITHA FOUNDATION CHRISTMAS CAMPAIGN provided presents, parties and food for the following social institutions in Bulgaria:
BOROVAN (NW Bulgaria – 140 km off Sofia) – 2 Centre for accommodation of a family type – 22 children and young adults’ aged 9-19 living in dire straits. We also provided for the Centre for community support and personal development “M.Belmustakova” for underprivilaged children 15 children.
TWO BOTEVGRAD CENTRES FOR ACCOMMODATION OF A FAMILY TYPE – there are 24 children and young adults, aged 6-25, some with serious mental and physical disabilities. We brought them presents and food. Tabitha Bulgaria also supports two grannies on Baba projects and a psychiatrist financed by Berlin Rotary Club and Lisa Freij.
DREN – 2 Centres for accommodation of a family type “Joy” – 22 children, aged 8- 17 years. We brought them food for Christmas and New Year’s Eve and presents.
DUPNITSA SOCIAL HOMES – 30 children and adults 7- 19 years of age: two Centres for accommodation of a family type for children with disabilities and a Centre for healthy children, Transitional House. We provided for them slippers and bags with chocolate treats.
MEZDRA – Complex for children with mental and physical disabilities (60 children and adults, age 4-25, accommodated in 4 Centres, a protected house for 6 young people and a transitional home for 10 adolescents. We bought them food and bags with delicious treats. We also provided presents and booklets with colour pencils for the kids from low-income families at the local kindergarten (55 children).
PLEVEN – Home for medico-social cares 60-70 kids, 0 – 4, 5 years, more than 70% of them bed-ridden or with serious mental and physical problems. The party was attended by St. Clause who distributed toys, sweets, and chocolates to the kids. G.O.A.L. Inc provided also money for expensive medicines because the Social home cannot afford to buy them. We support 6 grandmothers there and some urgently needed specialists through the generous financial support of Broken Wall (US) charity.
ROMAN 1 – Complex for social services for children and families: 55 children and young adults (2 Centres for accommodation of a family type and a Transitional apartment for young adults who are due to leave the institution, 30 persons) and 20 children from the Day Care Centre for disabled children from Roman and the region. Thanks to our friends from the Bulgaria Orphan Appeal and G.O.A.L. Inc we bought them food not only for Christmas and New Year’s diners but also meat, salami, sausages, sweets and fruit to last a month. Brand new warm jackets were bought for the kids. We support 4 grannies on Baba Project, three by Maarten Luykx (Nl) and one by BAS(US).
ROMAN 2 – Three Centres for accommodation of a family type for children and young adults with disabilities – 30 persons. The children received Christmas bags with treats. We brought them a lot of food for the Christmas holidays from our Irish friends, from Bulgarian orphan appeal
SAMOKOV CENTRE FOR ACCOMMODATION OF A FAMILY TYPE. – 14 children, aged 4-18 years. We brought them food and presents. Our friends from Rotary Serdika brought them their dream presents. The kids not only performed for us but had also cooked lunch and Christmas cookies to treat us. We maintain 2 babas there(one by G.O.A.L. Inc. and one by 5 former IWC ladies syndicate.
STARA ZAGORA CENTERS FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS – 38 people altogether, accommodated in 4 social institutions, transitional and protected houses
STARA ZAGORA 7 Centres for accommodation of a family type – 90 children and adults, most of them with physical and mantal problems,aged 7-19. They all received presents and food for the Chrsitmas holidays. Werkgroep Bulgarije in Wijk & Aalburg sent some money to buy food and cosmetics for he children.
VRATZA CENTRS FOR ACCONNODATION O|F A FAMILY TYPE, Transitional Home, 23 children and young adults (aged 7-25).
VRATZA SOCIAL COMPLEX, (54 children) consisting of 3 Centres for accommodation for disabled children – 42 children and adults, aged 6 – to over 25 years and a transitional home for 8 young adults and Unit for mothers and babies – 4 children and moms. We provided food and presents for all of them. The children were happy and enjoyed the party for Christmas. Though some were in invalid chairs they were also included in the celebration. Thanks to their babas the children performed songs. We support 3 grannies on Baba project, financed by BAS, Corawill Inc and the support of Tabitha’s donors.
STAR OF HOPE Shelter house in Sofia. The house is accommodated by young girls from Roman, Lom and Vratsa social institutions which Tabitha has supported. Most of the girls we have known from small kids.
SENIOR PEOPLE in Roman and the region – 50 elder people with low income received 2 m³ fire-wood and 50 people got winter packages, containing 2 kg of flour,2 lcooking oil, rice, beans, lentils, sugar, instant soups, macaroni, biscuits, waffles, meat and fish cans, tomato paste and jam.
Like every year in the last 10 years we received a generous lump sum from the Foundation MAX Maakt Mogelijk (NL) for the old people with low income in the town of Roman and the region through “Tabitha Netherlands” and the personal commitment of Rients Boiten.
HAPPY CHILDREN WITH MANY PRESENTS
TABITHA BULGARIA TEAM /ALBENA & GEORGE/