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UPDATE
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| OUR PLANS FOR 2012... |
The year ahead will be a pivotal time for TBACT as well as for the children we support in Bulgaria. Despite the successful completion of several projects including the closure of the Teteven baby institution, our fundraising income was disappointing. |
OUR TARGET
£90k |
We fell short of our 2011 target by £40,000 and had to draw on reserves in the last quarter of the year. Consequently, we have had to revise our plans for 2012 to ensure we can cut costs and spending without adversely affecting the children we are supporting whilst exploring opportunities to raise funds and set a realistic target for our income. |
In considering a target for 2012, we have taken into account the gloomy financial outlook, the spirited energy of our supporters and volunteers, as well as the determination of the managing board members to continue the essential work TBACT has so far achieved. We are therefore aiming to achieve an income of £90,000 for this year.
We will be implementing a number of fundraising initiatives over the coming months which we hope will raise funds and awareness for our work.
We hope our existing fundraisers and volunteers will continue their amazing efforts to raise funds for us and we are aiming to reach out to business communities to support our projects too.
Our project work will concentrate on supporting children in institutional care and children from the former Mogilino home. Our Baba Programme will be expanded to include a pilot project for older children which matches them with local young people to bring them into contact with their peers and improve their access into the local community. We will continue to fund therapeutic and rehabilitative projects that combat the damaging effects of institutional care on children growing up without a family.
Through our lobbying work we will continue to fight for the human rights of disabled and vulnerable children to be respected and we will be campaigning for nutritional standards in the baby institutions to be improved, for adequate training to be provided to staff responsible for feeding the children and for a malnutrition alert system to be implemented to ensure children are safeguarded.
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| WHAT WILL YOU SELL FOR TBACT ON 8th FEBRUARY? |
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Whether it’s an unwanted Christmas gift or something that’s been sitting at the back of a cupboard for years, using the Ebay auction is a great way to declutter and raise funds for TBACT.
We are asking all our supporters to put an item they no longer want up for auction and donate a percentage of the sale to TBACT on 8th February. We’ve already got a few interesting items pledged! So please get behind this fundraiser. Have a sort out and let us know what you’ll be selling !
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Please support our ebay For Charity Appeal to find out more click here
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| VOLUNTEER NEEDED URGENTLY IN FEBRUARY |
Due to a cancellation we need to fill a last minute volunteer placement available from 18th February to 3rd March. We can provide accommodation, airport transfers, CRB checks and liability insurance for just £100 for a two week placement.
If you are interested please visit our website or email theresa@tbact.org to find out more.
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| ARE YOU RUNNING THE 2012 LONDON MARATHON? |
If you have been lucky enough to secure a place for the Virgin London Marathon 2012 through the ballot and are considering running for a charity, please consider running for TBACT and raising funds for our work.
The marathon attracts 30,000 runners from professionals to beginners – and is one of the world’s biggest running events, raising hundreds of thousands of pounds for charity each year. We can support you with fundraising ideas, a TBACT vest as well as information for your supporters. We’ll also cheer you on from the crowd!!
If you are interested in running for us, please email siobhain@tbact.org with your name and contact details by 10th February 2012.
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Throughout 2012 we will be featuring some of our grannies and the valuable work they do for the children they help. This month, Baba Valia talks about her reasons for becoming a surrogate granny and her role in preparing a child for a new family.
Valia is one of our longest serving grannies. She has been caring for two children since October 2008 and believes the Granny Programme has been a life saver for both her and the children she cares for. |
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A year before becoming a Baba, Valia suffered two bereavements; her husband and mother both died within months of each other. With her children far away and no close family nearby, she was feeling increasingly lonely and isolated. She was, she recognises now, depressed. She explains ‘Becoming a granny gave me a purpose in life, I felt needed and it was good to know I was doing something valuable – and being with children is special. I have made a whole new circle of friends with the other grannies, so I feel much more positive and of course it helped me a little bit financially.’
It was only through chance that Valia became a granny. Whilst travelling on a bus she noticed a discarded newspaper with an advert asking for retired women to care for young children in the nearby institution. Valia applied and was invited for an interview and information session with the Baba Programme Coordinator. Before being interviewed all the potential grannies were shown around the institution and introduced to some of the children they might be chosen to work with.
‘ This was an important moment’ Valia says, ‘ a number of the ladies admitted they wouldn’t be able to do it – I think the children were more disabled than they expected and in some cases they were very dirty. It was much better that they knew this before they went any further’. Out of 60 women who had applied only 27 remained for an interview. Valia was one of 15 grannies appointed that day.
Axel was just over a year old when he was matched with Valia. He had been abandoned by his parents when he was six months old. He was deeply traumatised at the separation. His development stalled – so much so that by the time he was 12 months old he was very delayed and malnourished. Valia describes their first meeting: ‘He was so sad and unhappy. He had no interest in anything. He cried a lot and it took time for him to settle with me. I had told myself I mustn’t get too attached but it was impossible not to – he was so helpless and needy’.
Over the next two years Axel made good progress and managed most of the key milestones with ease. Proud of his progress, Valia says ‘He blossomed into such a happy, capable little boy. He was very loving –very cuddly! He would always be waiting for me every morning, standing in his cot looking out and as soon as he saw me he would start to jump up and down all excited. It was a lovely start to our day. I was as proud as a new parent when he took his first steps and within weeks it was a job to keep up with him – those little legs were very fast!
Whilst Valia was enjoying her time with Axel, she knew that one thing was missing in his life – a family. ‘Every child needs to feel they belong to a family, that they have a home, and I really wanted him to have that’ she says.
So it was a day of mixed emotions when Axel left the institution for good. He was adopted by a young couple from the capital, Sofia, and although Valia was sad at saying goodbye, she was pleased to see him leave the institution. ‘I knew it was right for him. Of course I miss his little chuckle when he started to laugh and his hands holding mine when we went for walks. But our journey together had been completed and he is starting his next journey in life – with his family.
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| COULD YOU SPONSOR A GRANNY FOR A CHILD GROWING UP WITHOUT A FAMILY? |
A loving granny can make all the difference to a child's life. We have a number of children needing a sponsor. You can sponsor a child with friends and family or as a work group and pay by monthly direct debit.
You will receive information about the child you are sponsoring, the baba and their progress together twice a year.
Here are just some of the children needing sponsors:
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