Funding a home for disabled adults might not be an earth-shattering venture in the UK but efforts by Belgian NGO MPC Sint-Franciscus have helped to rebuild the lives of those in a care home in southern Bulgaria.

It all began in 2002 when Bulgarian parent association Egida was looking for a foreign partner to help them end poor conditions at a home in Batak for 100 men with intellectual disabilities.

Jeff Scheurweghs, the organisation’s deputy director, says: "In 2004 we built the first group-home in Batak municipality in co-operation with parent association Egida. It was a laborious undertaking against the backdrop of a hard Bulgarian bureaucracy. We accompanied them throughout the process. We gave advice from our own experience and also supported them financially by searching for Belgian sponsors."

Half the money for the first initiative came from individuals, the other half from the municipality.

Scheurweghs says he felt "a moral duty" to help improve the situation in Bulgaria. "We heard from the European Organisation of Service Providers, a body that promotes equal opportunities for people with disabilities throughout Europe, that care for people in Bulgarian institutions was lacking."

Forging independence
The new home is in the middle of Batak village. Its eight inmates now have a good life, helping with housekeeping and gardening. Three of them work in the community as volunteers – for example, in the local library or in people’s homes.  

"They learn, step by step, to give more value to their own lives. They gain (everyday) experiences. They learn to make choices, and so they become more responsible for their own lives," says Scheurweghs, who visits Bulgaria twice a year along with his colleague and fellow project co-ordinator Anjes van Vaerenbergh.

"All this is possible because of the positive choices and courage of the municipality of Batak and the enthusiasm of the supporting team in the group home," he says.  
Together with the parent association and the municipality, MPC Sint-Franciscus undertook a second project – to create a day centre for men residing in the group home as well as children and adults living at home. Batak muncipality and Egida are currently looking for project money to renovate the building in question and are liasing with the Labour and
Social Policy Ministry.

In April, they also started a training programme for 45 people, all staff at the group home and the institution in Batak in partnership with the University of Plovdiv, where five professors helped develop higher levels of training and expertise.

"Our purpose is to disseminate this knowledge. We are convinced that this is a large step in the care for those people. Changing attitudes, improving support for these people is crucial," says Scheurweghs.  

Changing attitudes
Another organisation that Scheurweghs supports is Help the Children. This was originally an initiative of Belgian TV producer Chris Dusauchoit who asked his compatriots to help people in Bulgaria.

He’s also involved in another project – encouraging early intervention for children with mental health problems.

Scheurweghs admits that his work with Help the Children "is a slow process with ups and downs. But we all have the same huge motivation: people with a disability deserve a better life, and therefore they need all the support they can get".

Two Belgian NGOs (MPC Sint-Franciscus and Ado-Icarus) are, together with Dusauchoit, members of the NGO Help the children, which now has several projects in Bulgaria – in Veliko Turnovo, Rousse, Pazardjik, Vidin, Stara Zagora and Gabrovo.