Bulgarian Orphan runs UK marathon to raise funds for abandoned children

Dani Udrenov, a young Bulgarian abused and abandoned to an orphanage aged four, will run the New Forest Marathon in the UK on Sunday 25th September with Chris Mould, founder of Bulgarian charity ‘Foundation for Social Change and Inclusion’, to help abandoned children to break out of poverty.

At least 8,000 children live in state care in Bulgaria*. Many of them leave orphanages at 18 with few prospects and are forced into crime or prostitution in order to survive. Orphanage leavers in turn are likely to abandon their own children as a result of poverty. The Foundation for Social Change and Inclusion is working to stop this. Their House of Opportunity Programme provides orphanage leavers like Dani with life skills training and access to employment that enable them to break out of the cycle of poverty and abandonment.

Despite having suffered childhood abuse and abandonment, Dani, is one young orphanage leaver who has broken the mould with the help of a House of Opportunity and is now living independently with a job. He is determined to run the New Forest Marathon to provide others like him with a path out of poverty. He says:

‘So many young people like me are not given a chance. FSCI’s House of Opportunity gave me a chance. It taught me how to get a job, how to make a success of my life. It showed me that I could achieve something. I want to use my talent in running to help more young people like me.’

Co-founder of Foundation for Social Change and Inclusion, Chris Mould, 52, is running the New Forest marathon with Dani and says:

‘The plight of Bulgaria’s orphanage leavers is all too real but rarely makes the headlines. We hope that Dani’s run will not only raise awareness of the issues facing state care leavers, but will also show the potential to turn lives around. Dani is a fantastic example of a talented young man who has found work and is living independently but his story could have been very different. I’m hoping people will really dig deep to sponsor him. They’ll be investing in Bulgaria’s future in a brilliant way!’

The Foundation for Social Change and Inclusion is a Bulgarian charity founded by UK NGO The Trussell Trust. FSCI works in partnership with local communities to open ‘Houses of Opportunity’ across Bulgaria for young people leaving state care at 18. State responsibility for abandoned children ceases at 18. Many of those forced to leave orphanages on reaching adulthood have no family, few qualifications, no home and little money. Many struggle to find legal employment and often find themselves homeless or in poverty stricken communities. Care leavers are also highly vulnerable to human traffickers. All funds raised by Dani’s marathon will help to open more Houses of Opportunity for state care leavers right across Bulgaria.
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* Bulgarian Ministry of Labour and Social Policy (MLSP) statistics state that 8,000 children are in state care. Some NGOs estimate that this number could in fact be as high as 13,000.