President: Mogilino has been transformed
On March 30 2009 Social and Labour Policy Minister Emilia Maslarova presented a documentary on the Mogilino children's home, the centre that became notorious on account of its abandoned children, Bulgarian-language Dnevnik daily said on March 30 2009.
Maslarova showed the film during a round table on parentless children, hosted by President Georgi Purvanov in Sofia.
The home in Mogilino, near Rousse on the Danube, became infamous in September 2007 after BBC4 screened Kate Blewett's documentary Bulgaria's Abandoned Children. The heartbreaking images of children shown by Blewett shook both Bulgarians and foreigners, although some questioned Blewett's objectivity.
The film led the Agency for Social Assistance within the Ministry for Labour and Social Policy, as well as UNICEF and 16 NGOs, to adopt an action plan in October 2007 to shut the Mogilino home. A charity campaign was launched and 1.6 million leva was raised.
Maslarova's film shows children with mental disabilities in Mogilino being taught to communicate and deal with everyday life. As part of the Ministry's goal, 39 children have now left Mogilino although 30 children still reside there. Some of the children have returned to their families. Others have been sent to new family care centres.
"I hope that Mogilino will become a symbol of improvement because many things have changed there," Purvanov said.
These new centres were built with the help of the charity campaign and funds from state and municipality budgets.
A total of 23 homes for children deprived of parental care have been closed since 2003.
Maslarova showed the film during a round table on parentless children, hosted by President Georgi Purvanov in Sofia.
The home in Mogilino, near Rousse on the Danube, became infamous in September 2007 after BBC4 screened Kate Blewett's documentary Bulgaria's Abandoned Children. The heartbreaking images of children shown by Blewett shook both Bulgarians and foreigners, although some questioned Blewett's objectivity.
The film led the Agency for Social Assistance within the Ministry for Labour and Social Policy, as well as UNICEF and 16 NGOs, to adopt an action plan in October 2007 to shut the Mogilino home. A charity campaign was launched and 1.6 million leva was raised.
Maslarova's film shows children with mental disabilities in Mogilino being taught to communicate and deal with everyday life. As part of the Ministry's goal, 39 children have now left Mogilino although 30 children still reside there. Some of the children have returned to their families. Others have been sent to new family care centres.
"I hope that Mogilino will become a symbol of improvement because many things have changed there," Purvanov said.
These new centres were built with the help of the charity campaign and funds from state and municipality budgets.
A total of 23 homes for children deprived of parental care have been closed since 2003.