I READ your article on “Saving the children through inclusion” (The Sofia Echo, Issue 47, November 25).  It’s an excellent article and confirms the observations I made during a visit to Bulgaria and Dobromirtci Children’s Home.  I fully agree that the “institutions are intrinsically damaging to children” and in this case it is due to much more than just the absence of parents but mostly due to the way in which the children are cared for/not cared for.  These kids’ future will be so much brighter if they are re-integrated/fostered into loving families.

Sunette Wessels
South Africa

WITH regard to Lucy Cooper’s November 11 article about orphanages. It seemed to neglect one viable and hopeful possibility for these children - adoption by childless couples elsewhere in the EU and North America. Many adoption agencies operating outside Bulgaria have found themselves frustrated in arranging such adoptions, due to the glacial pace of the bureaucracy, and a general government indifference to the fate of these children. Agencies have often seen waiting times stretch into years, with delay after inexplicable delay, as files meander through the Ministry of Justice. A number of US and Canadian agencies have abandoned Bulgaria altogether, as they cannot accept new cases without any guarantee that they will ever be able to fulfil these adoptions. For the most part, these couples just want a child of their own, and cannot understand why the Bulgarian Government allows these children to languish in orphanages when a home and family of their own is available. In places where society is more diverse, few care if the children are of Roma background, and such prejudices seem ridiculous. My wife and I adopted our son from Bulgaria over a year ago, and we are happy to say that he has adjusted well, and added immeasurably to our lives. However, I have many a sleepless night wondering what became of the other children with whom he lived in his orphanage, every one of whom was bright, engaging, and deserving of something better in life.

Robert Hallett
Canada