If you know Todor, you will know why we like him so much! He is one of the reasons that keep us going on.
Humble, grateful, and eager to learn.
Toshko came to us at the age of 18. He knew from the start what he wanted to be – an athlete. After five years, he achieved his bachelor degree. Currently, he is graduating from the National Sports Academy. He will be a physical education teacher.
His perseverance, persistence, and seriousness also attract key people that want to help him! Todor won a scholarship and the goodwill of a big business structure. He will also receive full coverage of his Master’s degree. Along with that – he continues to win hearts!!
Todor will always be part of our family and we will gladly support him in
every important step!

Thank you Toshko, go bravely forward !

Valya* is not the most successful young woman in the history of the House of Opportunity.

Hers is a story of trial and error, about making choices and facing the possible consequences, a story about stubbornness and perseverance in an attempt to save one human’s destiny; to save Valya from getting lost among the statistics of young people who failed to escape exploitation at the hands of human traffickers.

Valya came from a medium-sized town in the countryside but she grew up in institutions. Her mother died when she was very young. Her father used to beat her and use her for begging when she was very young and eventually she was sent to a children’s home.

When she turned 18, a family invited her to live in their home. Even though she was receiving support and had a place to live, Valya just did not feel right there. At that time she found out about House of Opportunity programme from the young residents of an observed home in Ruse and whom Valya knew from the institutions she had grown up in. After a conversation with the manager of House of Opportunity, she was accepted in the programme.

The team at the House of Opportunity spent a great deal of effort encouraging Valya to finish her education but she failed all her exams. Inconsistency turned out to be a major problem for her in retaining work. In two years she changed seven jobs but she worked during the whole period of her stay in the House.

At the House of Opportunity Valya found not only support from the team, but also a safe family environment, where she was able to experiment and work to achieve her dreams, which were modest – a home and a family.

A month before Valya completed her time in the House of Opportunity Programme the team invited a specialist officer of the Border Police to tell the residents about the schemes and traps laid out for them by traffickers. He explained that offers of placements and employment from companies abroad need to be very carefully examined. He also gave them an international free-phone number that they could call if they needed to.

During that meeting, for the first time, Valya shared that her father is actually a trafficker who sends people to different countries, and, instead of delivering them a job, he takes their money and leaves them alone in the foreign country. The policeman confirmed that he knew Valya’s father, having been involved in his capture. He has been convicted and has spent some time in prison.

Several days after the meeting with the policeman and on the verge of her independence, her father’s sister contacted Valya. Her aunt offered her transport to the Czech Republic, accommodation and work. The two had not seen each other for years. When the team of House of Opportunity asked Valya where she was going to work, she told some of the members of the staff that she was going to work in a factory, and others that she was going to work in the fields. Then the team realized that she was not really aware of where she was going or what she was getting involved in.

The team tried to convince her that she was at high risk of becoming a victim of human trafficking, but she did not want to hear a word. Despite the advice, she was determined to go.

Having made up her mind, Valya asked the House of Opportunity team for one last favour – to contact FSCI’s team in Sofia and ask them to let her spend the night in a House of Opportunity in the capital because the bus to the Czech Republic was leaving early the next morning. They agreed, but they had an idea. They called their colleagues in Sofia, discussed the situation and decided to do everything possible to stop Valya going abroad.

The team in Sofia met Valya at the bus station, settled her at the local House of Opportunity and spent almost all night talking to Valya about her trip to the Czech Republic. At first Valya was angry with the team and didn’t want to listen, refusing to accept the likelihood of what lay in wait for her, but finally calmed down. The next morning, having considered the team’s counsel Valya decided not to go to the Czech Republic and returned to Ruse.

Thanks to the dedication and compassion of our team, we believe that Valya was saved from becoming another victim of human trafficking. Valya is still in Ruse, close to the House of Opportunity and the support it offers, but is working and living independently. And while living in this simple way might mean little for some, for Valya this means a lot and is perhaps the best thing that could have happened to her.

* Her real name is changed for the safety of the social service user

This story has no name or face. We have called the main person in it Asen. We’d like to keep his identity secret in order to keep him safe. This is why we’ve also spared some of the details in the story.

This is a happy story, one of success!

Asen got into a worrying situation set up by his uncle. Before he knew it he found himself in Greece. Without any ID or money, he was forced to sell his body and to go begging in order to earn his living. Although he’s ashamed to admit it, he had to do that for months and months.

Today Asen lives in the House of Opportunity. He has no job yet, but he’s looking for one. He’s happy that he has a place to stay and gets food and an allowance until he becomes able to take care of himself.  His biggest joy is that he’s away from the danger of falling victim to human traffickers again.

We don’t know how he managed to escape. All we know is that he is safe now and our job is to help him get back on his feet and to start his life as a responsible adult all over again.

We will support Asen if he decides to seek justice for what he went through but for now the priority is to help him overcome the trauma and to find a job.

Many young people, who leave orphanages are in danger of becoming victims of trafficing. Find out how you can help here.

Tsvetan Petrov is 25 years old. He came to the House of Opportunity Scravena when he was 19 years old from an orphanage in the village of Razliv.

He doesn’t have many memories from his early childhood and he doesn’t like to talk about it so we do not ask him. We talk about the future and the small steps we make today to assure comfort in the future.

“I feel great. A very old dream of mine is coming true- I study at a university. I work in one area and study in another, this way my chances for work in the future are getting bigger.”

Tsetsi told us that it was very hard to leave the orphanage. It was very shocking for him to exit one surrounding and to enter an entirely different one. “At one moment you are surrounded by strangers who expect from you to live differently from before”.

Today Tsetsi is more confident. He has worked for 6 years at Epiq Electronics in Botevgrad, he studies Marketing and Management in Sofia and dreams of running his own business. He stayed in the House of Opportunity Programme longer than planned, so that he can afford to study. It is a great pleasure for us to help him because we believe that his story will inspire other young people to fight and succeed.

“I want to be an example for the other children from the orphanages and tell them that it is great here. They have to know that this place is better than the other options which are available after leaving the orphanage”. 

Kolyo Marinov, 25 years old.

Kolyo arrived at “House of Opportunity” Skravena in early December 2012 and left after 9 months. He was born in Byala Slatina. After his mother died when he was six years old, his father became a drunk and Kolyo was entrusted to residential care. He has five brothers but does not keep in contact with anyone from his family.

He grew up in a home for children deprived of parental care, “Nikola Vaptsarov”, in the town of Roman where he finished secondary education.

After leaving the institution, several years of instability and wandering followed. For a while he worked in construction, living wherever he could. But he knew he did not want to live like that. He had dreams. He wanted to move forward. He wanted to finish university.

At the age of 22 Kolyo learned about the opportunity to stay at “Together” protected home in Gurmazovo from a friend. He stayed there for a year and with their support he started a driving licence course.

He came to Skravena and stayed for 9 months. During this time he stabilized, completed his driving courses and successfully took exams. Now he is category B and C licensed driver. He prepared for and applied to the Sports Academy “Vasil Levski” and now he is a first-year student at the academy in the sports teacher profile. He wants to start a second major, Ministry of Interior, in the same university.

His dream is to become a police officer.

There were times when I was little, and when I was in the boarding house with my brothers we were stealing. Now I’m not interested. I do not want to. I feel like I ‘m cured of it. Now I better ask for what I want, or go to bed hungry than to steal. I want to become a cop. This will give me more chances.

Peter Stefanov Sodev, 25 years old.

Peter came to the “House of Opportunity” Ruse in October 2013

He was born in Velingrad, his parents divorced when he was quite young and he lived with his father, grandmother and grandfather. He has a sister and maintains contact with his family.

While living in Velingrad  he completed his secondary education but didn’t have his baccalaureate.

When he was 12 years old he started smoking, at 14 he transferred to smoking marijuana. Then trouble with the police started; there were arrests for hooliganism and scandals. At the age of 20 he started using heroin, amphetamines. Now he’s clean.

He came to us in mid-October 2013 and at the end of the month he already had a job in a bakery. He feels calm. His employer is very pleased with him and after less than 6 months at his new job he has been promoted.

He wants to work.

His dream is to take his exams and diploma, get a driving license and work as a driver.

Krasimir has been part of House of Opportunity Programme in Ruse since 2011. Even though his first month in the House were not easy, he proved to be very persistent. His will to become a successful person, someone with good job and good social status, is inspiring. When he arrived at the House he was confused – he was not sure what he wants do to with his life, he was making friends with people at risk, who were trying to persuade him to sell his inheritance. To help one of these “friends”, Krasi bought expensive TVs – his friend took the TVs and Krasi was left alone with the credit.

After a long process of adaptation and gaining credibility, he managed to stabilize and see the full picture of what is going on. Soon Krassi found himself a job – for an year and a half, every day he was digging cable ducts. The work was hard, because he had to work even when the weather was bad – in rain, cold, snow or burning sun, Krasimir was working. Krasi started looking for another job – the company has stopped paying him and his colleagues.

This is when the team of FSCI included Krasi in a program of Fund “Start up – support for employment for young disadvantaged people” – he went on a interview and was immediately hired! The company is very pleased with his work, and, even though we are paying him the minimum wage, the company decided to invest in Krasi as well – they cover his insurance. He is very happy and grateful for this new opportunity. Soon after he started working in the company, he was promoted – his new position in the company is much more interesting and promising. He is currently at the end of his internship and expects to re-sign a permanent contract with a better salary. We have the assurance of the manager of human resources, that Krasi deserves and will have the chance to continue working on this position in future as well. Krasimir is now more confident – he believes in his bright future. So do we.

Nikolay Tsekov is 26 years old and loves farm animals, especially sheep.

Niki arrived at the House of Opportunity at the age of 23, when the family he lived with after he had left the orphanage refused to continue to help him.

He has spent his life moving from one orphanage to another after his parents left him when his grandmother died. The last orphanage he lived in was in the town of Berkovitsa. He attended the ‘slow school’ there. He has no medical disabilities but he was at a place where he did not have a chance to develop his potential. Now, Niki is 26 years old and is absolutely illiterate, he does not recognize money and sometimes he finds it hard to make sentences. On the other hand he is very hardworking, cheerful and is always ready to help and moreover he is very affectionate and sincere.

Niki remembers, with a smile, the summer he arrived at the House of Opportunity. A party was organized for his birthday in his first days there. It was the best party he ever had. He tells us that he likes Skravena and the life in the house and he feels this is like in a family. Mostly he likes Mr. Petkov and Mrs. Todorova, who “sometimes shout, but for the better”. His best friend is the neighbor Plamen to whom he helps breeding the sheep.

During his time spent in the house Nikki has become more responsible, keeps a regime and brushes his teeth regularly, which did not happen before.

He had never thought about his future as an adult before. Now he wants to live on his own, to breed cows, sheep, goats and horses. To start with, Nikki would be happy to be employed at the cleaning company in the Municipality. He dreams for a wife and one child- a boy. He will teach him good things and he will never leave him at an orphanage“because it is better in a family”.

Ivanka Angelova is 20 years old and she dreams to become a masseuse.

Ivanka remembers very clearly the moment when her mother left her and her sister Greta at an orphanage after their father’s death. The major part of their lives was spent at the orphanage in the town of Berkovitsa and she studied at the ‘slow school’ there. After she turned eighteen, in 2011, she entered the House of Opportunity in Skravena.

Did something change with you after you left the orphanage?
Many things have changed. When I came for the interview at the House of Opportunity I couldn’t speak, I didn’t say a word, I was even afraid that you were not going to accept me. I was rejected from all other places I applied and I was afraid that I was going to be left on the street. Now I can talk, I am more confident. Here, I have learnt to cook, to help in the garden and I try to keep my own room clean.

You say you could have been left on the street. Do you know what expected you out there?
I have no idea but I have heard of rapes and kidnappings- scary, very scary things.

How do you feel away from these dangers?
I am fine here. I get along with Mr. Petkov and “Mommy” (Mrs. Todorova) very well. Here I can understand how a family works- we support each other and I feel good.

Do you think about your own family? Do you have plans for the future?
It is too early for a family for me. I am not in a hurry. Right now I want to sign in for a masseuse course. This has been my dream since I was a child. I had one opportunity but I missed the deadline. I hope to have another chance.

Meanwhile you work at the Soap Workshop. How does this help you?
At first I was in charge of packaging and I was afraid I would not be able to cope with it. Now I take part in more activities and I am learning. I like it. I am picking up new skills and this will help me in the future. Moreover, I am a part of something meaningful and important and I am not bored.

Ivanka and Nikolay, who also grew up at the orphanage in Berkovitsa, are now under the same roof at the House of Opportunity. Every month they visit the local Labour Bureau in the town of Botevgrad, hoping to find a permanent job or a suitable qualification course.

Ivaila is 24 years old.             Hobby: football

Ivaila arrived at the House of Opportunity in Skravena when she was 19 years old. She graduated after 20 months.

Ivaila had spent her life in institutional care. Her first memories from the orphanage in Ugarchin are unpleasant: “Because we were at the orphanage we were treated like animals”. She was transferred to the orphanage in Vratsa, where she managed well, had friends and got along with the tutors. After she completed twelfth grade Ivaila had to leave the orphanage and she found herself at the house of her mother, with whom she had only very recently reconnected. Iva told us: “I had lost hope. My mother was not capable of taking care of herself, let alone another person. She lived in an isolated place. I was thinking: Is this it? Is this going to be my life?”

After twenty months at the House of Opportunity she decided to take her future in her own hands and during the summer of 2010 she started living on her own. Two months later she successfully passed her state exam for which she had prepared at the House. Today she has a serious relationship, 11 months old daughter and is making plans to get a teaching degree from the university. She dreams of becoming a children’s teacher and maybe, in her perfect scenario, a football coach!

“In the orphanage you learn by yourself. No one tells you whether the things you do are right or wrong and whether there is a better way to do something, the simple daily stuff. This way you learn wrong. It is as if I am starting a new life now. I learn everything over again, but now the way they are.”