Kids at Bogdanovo

Bogdanovo Boarding School

Introduction

ZOV UK have been working with Bogdanovo Boarding School since the summer of 2006. The school is located in the town of Bogdanovo, close to Nova Zagora in Bulgaria. We work with a local contact called Nikolay Nikolov who lives and works in the region. The school staff strive to provide a safe and caring environment for the children, but a lack of funds often means they are unable to cater for the children's basic living and educational needs.

The School

Bogdanovo accommodates around 80 children, and educates a total of approximately 130, aged between 7 and 16. The children that stay at the school have often experienced domestic violence, or simply cannot be looked after in their own home. Many of the children's parents are in prison or they have been abandoned. Despite the hot summer weather, winter temperatures in Bulgaria average -20C. The only source of heating for the school is a small wood-burning stove in each room.

ZOV visit: Summer 2006

On our first visit to Bogdanovo, it became apparent that the school was in desperate need of help. Up to 60 children slept in each of the dormitories, on dilapidated bunk beds with old, thin and dirty bed covers, in temperatures well below freezing. To offer some emergency help, ZOV UK fundraised through 2006/07, and was able to purchase and deliver 70 new brightly coloured and warm bed sets (woolen blankets, blanket cover sheets, mattress sheets, pillows and pillow cases). At the same time, we also provided the school with workbooks, pencils, pens, crayons, clothes, learning materials and sanitary items.

For more information about this visit, click here.

Winter 2006

Our second visit to the school took place in December 2006, when we met with the headteacher and our local contacts to discuss ways to help the school for 2007. ZOV UK also provided the school with a fresh supply of toothbrushes and other sanitary items during this visit.

old desks and new ZOV UK desks

Summer 2007

In the summer of 2007, ZOV UK revisited the school, and with the help of OXAB, provided new tables and chairs for a classroom. As you can see in the picture above, the previous tables and chairs were over 40 years old, and many children had nowhere to sit during lessons. We also found during this visit that the municipality had provided double glazed windows for the children's rooms.

the new desks in action

Future Plans

ZOV UK and OXAB are now looking into ways to improve the children's diet. Each child has only the equivalent of 20 pence per day for food. This means that they rarely eat any fresh fruit, and as a result their health suffers. We are aiming to supplement their diet with fruit at least twice a week.

We also hope to co-operate with OXAB to bring student volunteers from Oxford, UK to the school in their holidays. Other ideas include hiring an additional teacher to provide the children with essential skills for when they leave the school, and provide careers advice.

Establishing a community centre in the town, for children and youths at risk, is also a possibility for the future. The community centre would provide support for children and their parents and teach them how to work and live in the community, providing lessons in cooking, computer literacy, arts and languages. The plan for 2008 is set out below.