MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! REPORT ON TABITHA BULGARIA FOUNDATION’ S CHRISTMAS CAMPAIGN 2024
HAPPY, HEALTHY AND PROSPEROUS 2025 TO ALL OUR DONORS, SUPPORTERS AND FRIENDS!
We are happy to inform you that Tabitha Bulgaria Foundation successfully completed 2024 Christmas campaign! More than 30 social institutions with nearly 600 children and young adults received presents, food and fun for Christmas and the New Year.
Tabitha Bulgaria’s Christmas campaign would have been impossible without the generous help from our donors, volunteers and friends, their efforts, kind understanding and commitment to the Bulgarian underprivileged children and people. Regardless of the financial crises, the soaring up inflation, the political restlessness we still managed to cheer up many destitute children and young adults. Another 75 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 on a regular basis for the elder people in Roman every month, for a period of 6 months (November 2024– April 2025).
In the last 15 years Stitching Promoties considered the Bulgarian underprivileged children needs for the Christmas holidays and allocated money for the yuletide. 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.
As ever we had the continuous support from Tabitha Netherlands Foundation which made all activities possible. We would like to acknowledge the 25-years of support from Tabitha Netherlands and especially from the Board and the Boitens 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 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, family, relatives, friends and colleagues which made the children in Roman very happy. Thanks to their generous Christmas donation we provided food for the children for Christmas and the New Year Eve’s dinners, a beautiful party with presents and a DJ at a restaurant in Mezdra.
We also received financial means from SEWA (Sofia Expats Women’s Association) to liven up the disabled children with special needs in Vratsa and the Centre for Moms and babies. We brought them presents, goodies and food for the holidays
PROMOTIE Tabitha-Netherlands Board Bulgarian Orphan Fund SEWA
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 Iliana Stoilova, Svetla Draganova, the generous financial support of Kelsa Smith- Moushkourova, Eileen and Tony Reagen, Anne Pedersen and many others who helped us, make it through the Christmas campaign in December 2024. We are also thankful to Maria Soskova and her family for their financial support for Moms and Babies ’Unit in Vratsa. The regular New Year’s initiative of Ivan and Philip Matovs and their friends who fund-raised 1515 BGN at their party at the Eve of 2025 was greatly appreciated!
Volunteers Maria Soskova-Miller Kelsa Smith- Moushkourova Anne Pederson
Ivan and Philip Matovs and friends Eileen Reagen
Tabitha’s Christmas campaign was preceded by a lot of shopping, making presents , logistic and travelling by Tabitha’s team.
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. In Borovan we also provided for the Centre for community support and personal development “M.Belmustakova” for 30 underprivilaged children.
Presents for the children . Presents for the M.Belmostakoa Center
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.
We cheered up the Christmas season at the Centres with presents and food!
DREN – 2 Centres for accommodation of a family type “Joy” – 22 children, aged 8- 17 years. We brought them goodies and presents for Christmas.
We brought some joy and fun with presents and goodies to the young adults!
DUPNITSA SOCIAL HOMES – 32 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 for adults who are due to leave the institution soon. We provided for them slippers and bags with chocolate treats.
They were happy with the presents and goodies we gave them
MEZDRA – Complex for children with mental and physical disabilities (60 children and adults, age 4-35, 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).
Food for Christmas Kids from a kindergarten for low-income families
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. We support 5 grandmothers there and some urgently needed specialists through the generous financial support of Broken Wall (US) charity and G.O.A.L. Inc..
Kids enjoying the presents and the beautiful Christmas tree.
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 25 children from the Day Care Centre for disabled children from Roman and the region. Thanks to our friends from the Bulgaria Orphan Appeal we organized for them a Christmas dinner in Mezdra with presents, DJ and we bought them food for Christmas and New Year’s diners. We support grannies on Baba Project, financed by Maarten Luykx(Nl), by BAS(US) and Bulgaria Orphan Appeal. Thanks to Bulgarian American Society(BAS) Tabitha Bulgaria also maintain a rewarding program Bridge between generations there.
Happy kids dancing Christmas party with presents Great team!
ROMAN 2 – Three Centres for accommodation of a family type for children and young adults with disabilities – 30 persons. The children received Christmas presents and treats. We brought them a lot of food for the Christmas holidays from our Irish friends, the Bulgarian orphan appeal.
Much food for the Christmas and New Year’s Eves diners, parties and presents
SAMOKOV CENTRE FOR ACCOMMODATION OF A FAMILY TYPE. – 14 children, aged 4-18 years. We brought them food and 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 Rotary Club Serdica and one by 5 former IWC ladies syndicate Cathy, Carole, Eileen, Lisa and Lyndsay.
The kids had a wonderful Christmas with St. Clause, delicious meal and presents
STARA ZAGORA CENTERS FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS – 38 people altogether, accommodated in 4 social institutions, translational and protected houses.
Presents and food for the children and young people.
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. Every summer we have volunteers from Werkgroep Bulgarije in Wijk & Aalburg(NL) who play with the kids, do some renovation and cheer up the kids.
Home-made ritual bread Delicious Christmas diner Enjoying the presents!
VRATZA CENTRS FOR ACCONNODATION OF A FAMILY TYPE, Transitional Home, 23 children and young adults (aged 7-25).
Many presents and food for the children from CNST and Transitional home in Vratsa
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. We provided food and presents for all of them with the help of SEWA (Sofia Expats Women’s Association). We visited the party together with ladies from SEWA who brought goodies for all the children. Though some of the kids were in invalid chairs they were also included in the celebration and everybody enjoyed the party and the presents. We support 3 grannies on Baba project, financed by BAS, Corawill Inc and some extra the support of Tabitha’s donors.
Enjoying the party and the presents!
UNIT for Moms and children in Vratsa – 5 moms and 7 kids. Most of the mothers are underage or have suffered domestic violence. Thanks to SEWA we brought presents for the moms and the children, food for Christmas and the New Year Eves. The ladies from SEWA visited the Unit to give the presents. Last summer Dutch and French volunteers repainted the rooms of the Centre and prepared them for the newly-born babies.
SEWA and Tabitha Bulgaria Foundation cheered up the life at the Unit! We cheered
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.
The girls received food and presents and enjoyed both Christmas and New Year’s diners.
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 l of cooking oil, rice, beans, lentils, sugar, instant soups, macaroni, biscuits, waffles, meat and fish cans, tomato paste coffee and jam.
Like every year in the last 12 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. They also have provided winter help for 6 months in a row. Another group of 25 elderly received a wonderful Christmas party with food and presents. That made the day of their life.
Regular food supply, for 6 months and wood, distributed to 50 underprivileged people
Party and presents for 25 senior people We also received presents from the senior.
HAPPY CHILDREN WITH MANY PRESENTS
SMILING FACES, HAPPY CHILDREN, ENJOYING THE PRESENTS AND THE FOOD!
HAPPY, HEALTHY AND BLESSED 2025!
TABITHA BULGARIA TEAM
/ALBENA & GEORGE/