Voices
What the work looks like to the people inside it — children at the summer camps, the volunteers who run them, and the staff who see them grow up.
The part statistics leave out
The figures on the previous pages describe a reform. They do not describe a childhood. These are the accounts we have from the people closest to the work — children at the camps, the volunteers who help run them, and the partner staff who see the same children year after year.
Some are only a line long, because that is how they reached us. We would rather keep them than lose them.
-
ZOV Summer Camp · 2020
It was so cool and lovely trip, fresh air in our lives!
Mila, 17 Camp participant
-
ZOV Summer Camp · 2020
I love the forest, the nice house and the river!
Emi, 9 Camp participant
-
ZOV Summer Camp · 2020
Amazing place, amazing nature and so lovely trip!
Valya, 16 Camp participant
-
ZOV Summer Camp · 2020
I have never been before to such a great place. You didn’t forget about us.
Mary, 15 Camp participant
-
ZOV Summer Camp · 2020
Lockdown was so bad. Baba Stana was great.
Danka, 23 Camp participant
-
ZOV Summer Camp · 2020
I love Baba Stana, I love games, trees, the place, it was so cool.
Ani, 19 Camp participant
-
ZOV Summer Camp · 2020
Thank you for the incredible opportunity. It is essential for their development and adaptability, and it makes them independent.
Meggi Residential centre director
-
ZOV Summer Camp · 2019
It is very nice in Baba Stana, we feel it as a second home!
Nenka, 6 Camp participant
-
ZOV Summer Camp · 2019
I love this place, I feel free there.
Ana, 15 Camp participant
-
ZOV Summer Camp · 2019
I have never been to a place like this. I forgot about my hard life.
Tedi, 16 Camp participant
-
ZOV Summer Camp · 2019
I love Baba Stana, I want to go there again.
Mary, 22 Camp participant
-
ZOV Summer Camp · 2019
Ever since they changed our centre. Everyone wants to help children, and no one thinks that our young people are like helpless children.
Maya Bojkova Centre director
-
ZOV Summer Camp · 2017
Baba Stana is one of my favourite places, I feel free there.
Katia, 17 Camp participant
-
ZOV Summer Camp · 2017
Thank you for the opportunity for our children to have a real vacation.
Iskra Staff
-
ZOV Summer Camp · 2017
I love Baba Stana, I feel free!
Maria, 15 Camp participant
-
ZOV Summer Camp · 2017
Thank you for the opportunity for this trip, it was amazing!
Danka, 16 Camp participant
-
ZOV Summer Camp · 2016
Emily volunteered at the ZOV summer camp and noticed what the week gave the children beyond the activities: time and space to think about their own lives. The children wrote letters on the theme "What it means to be a Bulgarian". One girl used hers to write about her dreams for her future.
Emily Kirov Volunteer
-
Star of Hope HalfwayHouse · 2016
Nadya, who has a learning disability, took part in the cooking sessions at the HalfwayHouse — the supported accommodation where young women learn what they need to live independently. Cooking is one of the practical skills the programme exists to teach.
Nadya Resident
-
ZOV Summer Camp · 2015
Baba Stana was amazing, and so great wow
Violeta came to the summer camp in the Veliko Tarnovo region. This was her verdict on it.
Violeta, 17 Camp participant
-
ZOV Summer Camp · 2015
Cooking session with participants from Maya Centre, Veliko Turnovo
-
A few months ago, in June, we had a wonderful party to celebrate our youngest daughter’s 21st birthday. As all her friends and close family gathered in a Greek…
Nigella Lawson Extract from a piece published elsewhere
Stand with Bulgaria’s children.
A gift funds therapy, a summer-camp place, or a young person’s first steps into adult life — and Gift Aid adds 25% at no cost.