Until this moment, Nikolinka and Zlatko have provided shelter to five children in their small home in Velino, Shumen. Ever since she was a little girl, Nikolinka had the desire to help troubled children.

Nikolinka and Zlatko are celebrating their 45^th anniversary. In these years they have raised a daughter, a son, and are now taking care of a granddaughter who is already grown up. You can tell they are in their golden years, but this hasn’t tired them out much. When we visit them, we see the two of them renovating the bedroom in their small village home with the help of their children. “They live humbly, they are diligent and caring” their social workers say.

The specialists from the Regional foster care center in Shumen visit them quite often in order to give them support. Nikolinka says they are like family, because they check on them, help and have grown accustomed to each other. A few kids have lived at Nikolinka and Zlatko’s home. The first was only four years old when they took her in. Isabel was small, sad and very scared of life. She didn’t have any family habits. She never knew what it was like to have a mother and father, because ever since they left her, she had lived at orphanages. When she came to the house it was very difficult for her to get used to the adults. She was scared of Zlatko, because she had never seen a man before. She cried constantly for the “little ones” – that is how she used to call the children at the orphanage. “The first two months were a nightmare”, said the foster parents. They began to teach her even the most simple things. First, the child needed to learn about life outside of the big building where she had only seen women in white aprons. Nikolinka says she will never forget the day she asked Isabella to pick a tomato from the garden and the little girl stood rooted to the spot and could not understand what was being said to her. It was then that Nikolinka realized this child had never seen a tomato before. When she sliced it, the child happily exclaimed: “Yes, the red salad!”.

“They damage them so much at the orphanages.”, says Nikolinka.

She could not believe that a child at the age of three was unable to do the most basic things and was so unfamiliar with reality. In the four years that Isabella spent at their home she learned how to speak, she became self-reliant and caring. So she was adopted. It was like my heart was torn in two, says Zlatko about that moment. “It was very hard for us to overcome the separation with her, because she was everything to us”, adds Nikolinka. And they both start sharing stories of how sad they were when Isabela was taken away, but they gratefully add that they are glad the adoptive mother decided to let them keep in touch with the child. They even spoke on the phone last night, and talked about how she would come to visit them next summer, and eat her fill of her favorite plums and auntie Nikolinka’s pastries.

Shortly after Isabela moved in with them, the social workers asked them to foster Tsvetelina too. She was 16 years old at the time and the workers had taken her of the Shumen orphanage. It was difficult to live with her, says Nikolina. Tsveti had her own outlook on life and could not come to terms with the rules. But in the end they did reach an agreement. Tsveti stayed with them until she turned 18. “She is well now, we see her often”, says Nikolina. Sometimes they miss her, although they are happy that in her last years before becoming an adult, Tsveti received a shelter and a family. Even though they were not wealthy, her foster parents tried to give her everything they could so she could live independently when she turned 18. 

“It is not easy to raise a teenager”, says Nikolina and shares the story of 14-year old Asen. He was brought from the emergency center in Shumen. He had experienced many difficulties. Nikolinka does not know much about the life he had, but she says he wasn’t able to attend to his most basic needs. He had no hygienic habits. He would go to the bathroom in nylon bags and hide his excrements under the bed, he had accidents during the night… But they still took care of him because, as Zlatko concludes, “no child should be left to grow up in an orphanage”.

Now there are two foster children living in their house. Two girls, who require a lot of care in order to fix their broken hearts.

Eva is only four years old. She moved in to grandma and grandpa’s house recently.

She has a mother and a father but their lives have not been easy so they do not have the opportunity to raise their girl. That is why one day the social workers took Eva away and put her in a special home. The dad visited her every once in a while, but at some point he stopped. When they took her the first night, she seemed very quiet and anxious. It was time to go to bed, and Nikolinka went to the other girl who had lived there longer, and kissed her good night. And she forgot to do the same for Eva. Suddenly Eva asked “Was I not good today, grandma? Kiss me too.” Nikolinka’s heart broke, and until today she cannot forgive herself for forgetting about Eva. “Every day I try”, she says, “to fix the mistakes of the many adults who have passed through these girls’ lives. The hardest part is explaining where their parents are and when they will come to pick them up.”

“Even if it is a wonderful child”, says Nikolinka, “you will need some time to get acquainted and to love them. It’s the same with your children too, and the most important thing that anyone who wants to take care of foster children must know, is that you need to be very patient. Patience, care and the desire to get to know the child, will make you a good parent, and not the euphoria from the fact that they are in your home”. “It is difficult to take care of someone else’s child”, concludes Zlatko. But he adds that as hard as it may be, you must not forget that these are children who need someone to help and devote themselves to them, so they can grow up strong and independent.

And, thus, far away from big cities, in a small house in the village Velino, two children are being raised by Nikolinka and Zlatko who are the only light in the tunnel of their difficult lives. As time passes, Eva and the other girl will learn to help each other and take care of one another. They will also learn about respect.

And until the time comes for someone to become their parent forever, Zlatko and Nikolina’s door will remain open for other children, who need shelter and care.