HEAR FROM PAST VOLUNTEERS

Volunteering abroad can be one of the most rewarding experiences of your life. It’s an opportunity to become personally involved in a cause you care about and see first-hand how much your own efforts can change the lives of others.

Read what our volunteers say about volunteering in Bulgaria with TBACT.

Theresa – volunteering for the first time

“I volunteered for a three week placement last year. It was my first experience of volunteering overseas and I was nervous about going. I was worried that I would find it too upsetting. Although I was shocked at the levels of neglect and seeing some of the conditions in which the children lived was distressing, I could soon see just how much a moment of one to one attention delighted the children. They are so deprived of contact that just a smile or a cuddle makes an enormous difference. Even in the short time I was there I was able to see a difference in the children.

The work was hard and the days were long and the three weeks went so fast. It was the most rewarding experience of my life and I will definitely go again.”

Beth – developing skills

“After volunteering in Bulgaria this year, I just knew I wanted to be a children’s nurse. I am due to start my Masters in Children’s Nursing next year.

Some of the children in the institution were chronically ill. It was good to be able to comfort them and make them feel cared for by simple things like giving them time to feed properly as well as playing and singing with the children.

Although a lot of the things I saw were heart breaking and at times I felt overwhelmed at the scale of the neglect, I realised that just by simply being there makes such a difference to their lives. As well as a desire to care for children who have nothing and no one, I hoped volunteering would help me grow and develop as a person and I wanted to challenge myself.

I have volunteered at the institution twice now, for a total of 5 weeks and I can honestly say it has changed my life. I hope to continue volunteering at the institution and would love to see things improve for the better. I aim to return again and make a little difference to the lives of the children who live there soon.”

Hannah – helping the children

“I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to go to Pleven and I met the most remarkable children. They each had their own stories of their pasts which had resulted in them being in the orphanage but what I found most inspirational was that throughout all that they had been through somehow and I don’t quite understand how, but they all have the most incredible characters and smiles. They gave me the strength to be there. The most amazing sound became their laughs and the most amazing view was their smiles and the feeling that I brought happiness and love to them was remarkable. It became solely about that for me it was all about making them happy for as long as possible.

I think of the children in what I do now, I wonder how they are and they are with me in everything that I do all the time. I treasure most my memories of them. I remember that when you held a child even if only for 5 minutes I knew that I could share something with them. I learned the power of a simple hug and love. It still amazes me how no matter what situations they encountered the children’s characters shone through. Each one of them was an inspiration to me and they are some of the most remarkable people I have had the privilege of being with. Their first smiles and first laughs will stay with me throughout my entire life and I can’t wait to return to them because they gave me more than I can ever give them and the feeling they left me with is something that is priceless and it is what I gained and treasure most.

I also gained some friendships which I hope to keep forever. One of the hardest thing I found was leaving them at the end of the day but the girls I met who were also volunteers were incredible. They are all remarkable people and I also feel privileged that I could share all this with them too. I got the honour of being with children and people who had such immensely huge hearts and I have learned a great deal from each one of them and I feel I have grown as a person”