Day 2 - Group Homes in Kyustendil

We woke up this morning with many thoughts in our heads especially after what we had seen the previous day at Gorna Kozinitsa.  My first impression when we saw the group homes were that it was a massive improvement from the conditions they had previously been living in. We had a tour of the group homes and met a lot of the children. There were only 16 people in the group homes and 2 children to a bedroom. They had their own clothes and bathroom, normal sized beds with mattresses and they also had the opportunity to be individuals and just be children. After the tour we wer divided up into groups do different jobs which were: Painting the animal hut, painting the inside of the multi sensory bus, designing the outside of the bus and making textile things to go in the bus. Some of the residents came to help us with the painting.  After lunch we started another work session before some ‘Girly Time’ with the residents, painting their nails and doing their hair. We also did face painting and putting make up on them which they loved. With the boys we played football and blew bubbles and played with chalk. One of the little boys would hold out his arms as if he were expecting a hug, but he wanted to be spun around and found it really fun and was always smiling.

Frances Eskdale

Wow. The homes that the residents are now living in are so homey and have that extra feeling of a place where people can live and enjoy life. When we first arrived we got a tour of the home and got a welcome by a lovely girl called Stanislava, she gave us a tour of her room, very proudly. Even though at the end she admitted she was quite nervous as we were a big group. Throughout the day I could always see a smile on her face, which made my day. All the residents were lovely and welcoming.  Holding our hands, giving hugs and trying to communicate with us. During this busy day we accomplished a whole lot. We worked on the inside of the caravan/sensory bus, the outside of the caravan and several sensory objects. We are glad we could accomplish so much in a day, as all we have to do now is use our stencils to spray paint the outside of the sensory bus. Hopefully the finished product will look very good and most of all be helpful for the kids. We're sure that tomorrow will also be productive. We're looking forward to seeing the kids tomorrow and spending some more down time with them.

Caitlin Hemminga and Nadine Saris

We were shocked to see the massive improvement from the old homes to the new homes. The children have more space to be free, expressive and independent. It was completely inspirational to see how they could be so happy after being in such a confined and in-human environment. When we walked through the door we were greeted with big smiles and hugs. We then got to see their rooms and the rest of the grounds. A small group of us including Ellie Seed, Karen Denti and myself went out to buy some items to put into the sensory bus. We went out with two members of the home and they were so excited to be going out. The two girls we went with were very sweet and treated us like we were best friends which was strange but very touching. One of the girls gave me and Ellie a tight hug and a big kiss on the cheek, it was an odd feeling of both the instinct to retreat and having someone be so close. All the children are spectacular and I cannot say anything bad about their amazing spirit and warm hearts. I can safely say for all of us that we are looking forward to seeing them again tomorrow. 

Rachel Lennon