The Abandoned Children of Bulgaria (part 4 of 5)

A children's home in Bulgaria that is a dumping ground for the unwanted.
Director Kate Blewett visits a children's care home in Bulgaria and investigates the conditions in which the children live.

Following the completion of the film, the production team offered the Bulgarian Embassy in London the opportunity to comment on the findings made in the course of filming the documentary:
The Social Care Home - where 75 unwanted children are growing up - is the main employer in the small village of Mogilino. Few of the children can talk, not necessarily because they are unable but rather because no one has ever taught them how.

Kate meets the children in this tragic, silent world, such as Milan, the gentle giant who spends his days doing chores and watching over the others, and mildly autistic 18-year-old Didi, who is able to talk, and has plenty to say, but no one to speak to. The children that surround them suffer a variety of problems, many are blind or deaf and some are unable to leave their beds, many are literally wasting away.

Abandoned into the hands of the staff at Mogilino these children inhabit a bleak uncaring world, so devoid of normal everyday stimulus that many have taken to rocking slowly and constantly in their chairs just for something to do.

Bulgaria has more institutionalised mentally and physically disabled children than anywhere else in Europe. This film is a heart-rending and eye-opening look into the life of one such institution.

Update: Friday 16 November 2007

Some changes have taken place since the first showing of this film on BBC Four in September 2007. A team of Non Government Organisations (NGOs) is working with the government to bring about changes to the lives of disabled children growing up in the state institutes in Bulgaria. This NGO alliance is made up of teams who have been working on the ground in Bulgaria for years.

The children in the home in Mogilino have recently been assessed by a medical team, and rehabilitation plans are being put together for each child. Specialists like speech therapists and physiotherapists are being assigned to Mogilino to work with the children. In the long term the plan is to either build purpose-built small group care homes for the disabled - or to relocate the children to better environments with Day Care Centres and potential schooling.

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News & Politics

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• nederlandstalig
• abandoned
• children
• child
• abuse
• neglect
• torture
• health
• humanities
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• documentary

[ebaymamaqueen]

this woman is just sick and seems to be enjoying her so called 'staff' failures. she is more concerned about a damned building than kids that are being sexually assaulted and grossly neglected. God almightly i am lost for words right now!

[jaynies1]

i want to punch that director in the face so much...instead of poolside umbrellas how about food/fruit . the staff dont need to be trained in humanity and human kindness...i would spend all my time hugging each child every day

[candycanekid99]

it's disgusting how people just throw their children away, and it's even more disgusting that most of these people do not even care about the state of children. you see it everywhere but it is so prominent there. So very sad. That stupid director is such a liar...I hope she is out of work for a very long time. I am definitely going to adopt when I get older. I can't see children living in squalor like this. so inhumane. and so many places still like this even after the fall of communism. ):

[amzunit]

@fararigrl I fully agree, she accepts not one shred of responsiblity.. Imagine of her staff heard her putting all the blame on them they'd turn on her so hard....

[lifeasacouponjunky]

UGH ! Watching this makes me feel like such a spoiled American !

[whisperingdragon33]

I feel so helpless. I wish I could take all of them out of there.

[siroam2012]

She bought three umbrellas.., she should have bought a shovel and dig a hole with it, and hop in the hole and buried herself in it. This is shocking and so sad :(

[Ferarigrl]

THIS LADY'S RESPONSES ARE UNREAL!!!!!!!! I DON'T KNOW HOW THE GIRL KEEPS FROM LEAPING ACROSS THE TABLE AND SMACKING HER ACROSS THE FACE

[the0th]

the staff get paid but really if they left nobody would replace them. even homeless tramps wouldn't work in a disabled home every day of their life. so the staff are the best available.

[Kenkasan]

in a body-situation these childrsn have, sexual organs wouldnt work. Maybe they could try stuff out but they are to hungered for gettin pragnent

[stckytree]

5:14 admits her employees are lazy and stupid