This particular orphanage is 1 of 3 orphanages in Sofia that is for children from 0-3 years old. However, they actually have children up to age 7 in this particular facility. The facility is set up so that one side of it is the orphanage (children live there 24/7) and the other side of it is a daycare (children are there daily and go home to their families at night). Some of the children in the orphanage have families that visit (so they are not legally available for adoption) and others are legal orphans.

We received a lot of information from the staff. They were all very nice and answered all of our many questions about the children, the facility and their thoughts on why children with Down syndrome are placed in orphanages at birth and what the struggles for families are in their country.

We were able to meet and interact with 7 children with Down syndrome. One of them already has a family that has passed court and will be coming to pick him up very soon. For me, personally, it was such a sweet moment to hold him in my arms and know that his days there are numbered and that he is going HOME. We also got to hold some babies. I can't even begin to describe how very hard it is to hold such tiny babies and to know that their lives could be....SHOULD be....so much different. I don't think I'll ever forget the feel of the 3 month old baby girl that I held in my arms or the absolute desperation that I felt in that moment. Visiting orphanages is such a mixed blessing....holding the children, loving on them and praying over them silently is an honor and a privilege. But walking out while knowing what their day in and day out reality is....and the very real truth that many of them will never know the love of a family....it is just absolutely heart breaking.

There is so much I could say on this topic or about the children. But, the point of this post is to say this:

That place is part of the WHY behind the continued efforts of Connecting The Rainbow. The ONLY way that children with Down syndrome are going to stay out of orphanages is if the society's views are changed. That starts by educating and supporting the families that are raising their families, providing up-to-date and accurate information to doctors and therapists and encouraging therapists, teachers and families to work TOGETHER for the children. It's about sharing the why and how of some of the simplest of interventions that can go a long way in helping the children. It's about lifting these families up and saying,  "You CAN make a difference" as they fight for change in their country. Those babies in that orphanage just motivated me even more that THIS is such a very valuable piece of the mission to stop the orphan crisis.

Amy, Bessie, Angie, Brigitte, Shelley, Becky, Phil, Frank,
Valentina, Tanja and Toni.
"traditional Bulgarian food",
these are the platters that were ordered for us to eat
(we had 2 of each):

During dinner, we discussed the current "cultural climate" in Bulgaria in regards to health, education, early intervention (or the lack thereof) and the needs of the families who are raising their children with Down syndrome. Frank also shared the progress of the project in Ukraine to give the Bulgarian parents an idea of what is being done in other parts of Eastern Europe.

Toward the end of the evening, we were treated to some Bulgarian music and dancing

 The center has several programs. In one area, there is an all day therapy program for young children with special needs. The children receive speech therapy and other instruction using the Montessori approach. The children are separated in groups based on their age.

 The second part of the facility is evaluations and private 1:1 therapy sessions. These are done daily from 0800-1900 in one hour sessions with children with special needs. Families pay $30 for a one hour private therapy session.
 The third part of the program is an all day therapy program for children with Autism. This classroom also follows the Montessori approach and the class is divided into centers. The children have a sensory area, a work station, an arts/play area and a section where they learn daily living skills using real objects from their daily lives (ex: a store set up where the buy their favorite foods to learn about money).



 The director of this center is very pro-active and uses a variety of techniques to teach the children that come to the center. There were an impressive amount of developmental toys, teacher made materials and resources for the children to use. For the children that attend the all day program, each child is working on skills based on their individual needs and progress is being seen. The therapy center also serves as a training area for students who are studying to be therapists. The director hires interns to train in the Montessori methods and to learn how to work with the children with special needs. The majority of the children that attend this center have Autism or Down syndrome.

Today begins the journey to Bulgaria for a jam packed weekend full of events! Some of the team will arrive in Bulgaria on Thursday and everyone else will join us on Friday.
On the schedule for this weekend:

• Touring special needs centers in Sofia to observe therapy/educational settings.
• Visiting an orphanage and speaking to the director and the doctor about the care of children with Down syndrome. We will also have the opportunity to meet the children with Down syndrome that are living at this facility. We'll be leaving some donations there as well. 
• Meeting with the parents on Saturday night for an informal Q&A/discussion time and social
• Conference all day on Sunday

I also have a big meeting in regards to adoption related issues this weekend as well.

I'm, personally, very much looking forward to getting to post photos of everyone that's traveling from the US and the UK to attend the conference....because that means that I will finally get to meet all these wonderful people in person!

we will be doing activities with the children during the conference, sending "goody bags" of supplies
back with orphanage staff that attend the conference (and therapists too) AND we will be delivering supplies to a local orphanage.

In two weeks, I will board the first of several flights that will take me to Bulgaria for the World Down Syndrome Day festivities! I will arrive in Bulgaria on Thursday, along with a couple of other people. The rest of the team will arrive on Friday. I am planning posts for the week leading up to the trip to introduce everyone that is going, so you can "meet" them all then :)
 Everything from the conference is coming together nicely and we're very excited about everyone that will be speaking at the event. This week, we received word that orphanage directors and caregivers will be in attendance, some driving from several hours away to learn more about Down syndrome and what they can do to improve the lives of the children in their care. We're very excited to have the opportunity to share with them too! The families have been compiling lists of questions for us too. It's been very helpful to hear straight from them exactly what they want to learn more about.

We've had a tremendous amount of donations so far and we are so very thankful for all the support for this trip! We are still in need of funds to cover some expenses. People have asked for ideas of things we're seeking funding for, so here is a brief list:
1.) basic items/toys to give to the children. We're trying to put together gift bags for each of the children with items that can be used for play AND therapy (like play dough, foam stickers, puzzles, etc).
2.)Fund the big translation project to get all the DSE research journals translated into Bulgarian. We've already been able to purchase all the journals and now we're working to get them translated.
3.)Materials to give out to everyone who attends the conference. These are all very nice and I'll share photos of what the packets look like once they are all together.
4.) Toys and supplies for the orphanages: We are working to schedule a visit to an orphanage and we already know that orphanage directors are coming. We'd love to send "goodie bags" back to the orphanages with the workers.

This is just some of many different things that the money is being used for. Donations can be made by clicking on the link in the side bar ---->>>>