Creating Impact & Outcomes
The problems and issues that vulnerable children face in Eastern Europe are often different than those in other parts of the world. Understanding the societal and historical issues at play takes time and patience --but the rewards are achievable and well worth it. Our 20 years of experience have allowed us to maximize our results with low overhead costs. Here are some of the ways we ensure impact and outcomes: One Heart Children’s Foundation…
- … builds strong relationships with directors and staff at the orphanages we serve. These men and women have a great deal of influence over the day-to-day lives of the children under their care. By partnering, we can provide the most effective help possible, tailored to fit the children’s specific needs.
- … works with the social services, health care services, foster care programs, and local government leaders to stay connected with the children’s most pressing needs and concerns. When possible, we also help provide training and support.
- …. provides long-term solutions. We support and encourage self-sustaining projects and look for ways to help the orphanages help themselves.
- … designs each sponsorship, program, and special project to match the needs of the children. Our outreach encompasses staff and job training and identifying and hiring qualified professionals to work with the children.
- … strategizes and makes connections with likeminded organizations to facilitate the closing down of orphanage systems.
Each member of One Heart Children's Foundation's board and many of our team directors have strong personal ties to Eastern Europe and deep interest in improving the orphanage system. Several members of the board have personally visited the orphanages and have interacted with the children. Some have adopted children from Bulgaria. The compassion we feel for these children is heightened by the fact that we know them—we have seen, held, cuddled, and played with many hundreds of these children—they are dear to our hearts. Catch the vision of our work and join us in saving the children of Eastern Europe!
Stories of Success
Rado & Ivan
See the little boy on the right, who is hugging our physical therapist, Rado? Well, everyone said that his condition was too severe and that he’d never learn to walk. However, Rado has worked so many miracles with so many severely neglected orphans with cerebral palsy, that he didn’t listen. He started working with this little boy and within six months, he was walking!
After taking this picture, I (Deborah) listened to Rado tell me about the moment when this eight year old boy got out of his wheelchair and took his first steps. He had captured it on video and showed me. I wish I could share that video, but we aren’t allowed to show the faces of these particular children. But what I can share about is the pure joy I saw on that boy’s face, as he took his first steps across the room towards Rado, then clung to him, laughed ecstatically and then started clapping for himself! It was so touching and so powerful that it moved me to tears.
This is why we do what we do. It’s for this one little boy—the “ONE heart”…the ONE abandoned child who no one cared about and who no one knew until ONE man believed in him and work with him. Now this boy is more eligible for adoption!
We are SO grateful that our physical therapists actually LOVE the children they work with. They are so compassionate and so determined to help the children in their care. Lifting children all day long, day after day, is backbreaking work. Being patient with children who have a difficult time expressing themselves or who can’t talk, is mentally taxing. But our physical therapists continue to change lives, nevertheless, and we love them for it!
Horse Therapy
Look at the pure joy on this girl’s face!
She’s an orphan with Down Syndrome who visited the horse therapy ranch that we created in 2019, together with the cast and crew of the TV show, “The Fixers.”
Rancho Mitaka has become famous throughout Bulgaria. Orphan children from around the country visit five days a week to interact with gentle, loving horses and kind therapists. Children with disabilities receive hippotherapy and perform strengthening exercises while sitting on and riding the horses. This special therapy helps children with both physical and emotional healing. Families in the community are also invited to ride on Saturdays for a fee, making this program self-sustainable. Children in the community with disabilities get to ride for free.
There’s other exciting news! The mayor of Sofia and the mayor of Plovdiv visited the ranch for a special ceremony and celebration. News reporters and journalists also attended and publicized the event. The city of Plovdiv is so proud to have the only horse therapy ranch in the country, that they have offered to take the program over and cover 100% of any additional expenses. This is incredible!
The establishment of the horse therapy program has massively strengthened One Heart Bulgaria’s relationship with government leaders on a national and municipal level. Because of this breakthrough and the resulting relationship of trust, we are able to make significant headway with other initiatives in the areas of child health care and child abandonment prevention.
We know that YOU made this possible through your contributions and birthday fundraisers here on FB. YOU put the smile on this girl’s face! We hope that makes you feel as happy as we are!
Simeon
In 2020, One Heart Bulgaria hired a young man named Simeon to work as a “batko” at one of the orphanages. “Batko” means “big brother” and that’s exactly what we hired him to be for the kids. Typically we hire “babas” (grandmothers) to be mentors and caregivers, but this young man seemed perfect for the job. He is an adult orphan who grew up in the same orphanage that he now works for. While growing up he was known for being a very good and helpful boy. As an adult, he was in need of work and really wanted to help the orphans. He seemed like a perfect fit and he truly has been.
A few months later, Simeon and I (Deborah) had a video meeting. They talked about how things were going with his work at the two orphanages. What a sweet young man he is. He absolutely loves his job. It was a great conversation in which a whole bunch of dots were suddenly connected.
We learned that Simeon happened to be the same boy for whom we approved an important operation ten years previously. It was an operation that changed his life, but we didn’t know that until our discussion!
Simeon was born with a club foot and confined to a wheelchair. When he was 17 years old (10 years prior), the orphanage director asked if One Heart Bulgaria could help with an operation to further repair his foot.
I remember we wanted to approve this request, but at the time, all of our medical assistance went towards providing shunts and surgeries for babies and young children with life-threatening hydrocephalus and for immunizations for hundreds of children. Our funds were limited. If we approved Simeon's “nonessential” surgery, would there be enough funds for some other child’s life-saving surgery? Could we borrow funds from one of our other program’s budget?
These are the kind of questions we ask each month when dozens of requests come in from the 26+ orphanages we help, especially when funds are low. The needs are literally endless, so we need to make very careful decisions.
In 2010, we decided to approve the request for Simeon’s surgery. After his surgery, our Bulgarian director emailed a photo of Simeon to me. I recalled this as well, and so I searched and searched my emails until I found the photo of 17 year old Simeon! I then emailed it to Simeon who was also surprised and thrilled to make the connection. Because of that surgery, Simeon’s foot was able to be fully repaired and he learned how to walk. It completely changed the trajectory of his life. Ten years later we hired him to help take care of other orphans, without realizing that he was that same boy! Simeon now helps with all kinds of things at TWO orphanages. He feeds the children, cooks for them, makes bread with them, washes their faces, helps with crafts and activities, takes them on outings and is their friend. Orphanage directors and our directors in Bulgaria call him “invaluable.” Ten years ago, Simeon was ONE of approximately 10,000 orphans needing help and he received it. One of the reasons why we are called "ONE Heart Bulgaria" is because we care about the ONE. Every single child is important to us.