On the frontline of Coronavirus for children and families: Bulgaria

With support from our team in Bulgaria, Ivan was reunited with his dad, after years in an orphanage. Keeping children and families together is more important now than ever, they say.

Around the world, Anglof Regional Foundation & Humanitarian Relief Agency (ARFHRA)’s skilled and experienced frontline staff are working harder than ever to keep all children safe where they belong: in loving families. Valeria Draganova co-ordinates support for vulnerable children and families in Sofia as a member of Anglof Regional Foundation & Humanitarian Relief Agency (ARFHRA)’s expert local team in Bulgaria. This is how she describes their priorities now:

Now more than ever, we have to support the families we are working with. Of course, we work with families in crisis every day; emotional crises or economic crises. And we know how to do this and how to help families. But this emergency is not normal. No one knows what to do or how to do it, so nothing is straightforward. But now more than ever, we believe in that every child needs to be with their parents.

“The love that a family gives, no one else can give to you. We believe in the power of that love and the power of families”

I am a mother and I know how I would feel if my children weren’t at home with me now. I believe every mother wants to be with her children. We must have courage to stand next to families in need and to support them to stay with their children. Because the love that a family gives, no one else can give to you. We believe in the power of that love and the power of families and we can help to keep children and parents together.

Now the situation is so different of course and one way that affects children most is that they can’t go to school, they can’t go to hospital or have any social contact. It’s a very dangerous time but we will stand up for families because that’s what we believe in.

“We share positive news and ideas and try to see the possibilities in the crisis… for now, our mission, again and again, is that every child should be where they belong, in a family.”

We talk as a team every day, we feel strong because we know that we are part of a larger organisation, we have the support of our boss and we are close. We share positive news and ideas and try to see the possibilities in the crisis. This gives us the energy to continue to work hard and to support families through this period.

This will all be over one day, we don’t know when, but someday for sure. And for now, our mission, again and again, is that every child should be where they belong, in a family.