In the Smolyan area everything is high up. The mountain is a haven for everything Bulgarian, giving strength to the thousands of Rhodope inhabitants who guard the building blocks of our culture. Proud, like the mountain itself, the people from Smolyan race with time daily, earning the recognition of their peers.

We find Assen Peltekov and Albena, his partners for years, in front of their house. It is a little awkward calling Assen and Albena’s home a house.  The five-story building rises from the ground ot lightly touch the sky. And from the last floor you can see the entire beauty that is Smolyan. Assen is busy with agro-fitness – he is mowing the green grass in front of their home, while Albena is getting ready to greet guests. Before you even have a chance to look around, the family has already shown you around the house. Each of the couple’s own children has their own floor, and the house even has a shelter.

Assen is a worthy man. And Albena has not lost any of her beauty in the 16 years since they met. She was a widow working as a seamstress. He was recently (and happily) divorced with two children and a house, which had not yet been built. To manage his life and two children, Assen took up three jobs – transporting a dairy farm’s milk, delivering beer for a few establishments and guarding a taxi garrage. Albena had recently lost her husband and was looking after her young daughter. The year they met, 1997 was turbulent. It  was difficult financially and politically – and the small town was no different. Happily, they both had jobs and were able to make it work.

And so a day came when Albena’s neighbors hinted at Assen that a beautiful widow lives near them, alone with her daughter. Nothing was tying him to his ex-wife anymore – the divorse was final. Assen was 40 years old and felt full of energy. The neighbors gave him Albena’s phone number and he called her the same evening. She told him that she could not meet him, because she was busy at the tailor shop. His curiosity got the best of him and he showed up at her work place the next day.

He asked her colleagues to call her.

Albena remembers that at the moment they first met Assen’s heart was beating madly. She could see his shirt, which gave him away pulsing with his heartbeat. Assen says he had never been so in love before. He told his children about her the same night – she was 17 years younger than him.  His grown-up daughter and son did not object. Albena also told her little girl about Asssen. She did not take it well and told her directly that when she grows up and marries, she would find her a room, but pleaded with her not to marry Assen. Albena did not expect any miracles from him, but was determined to make the most of the situation and her and Assen became official 20 days later.

Albena says that Assen is the most caring father she had ever seen. “Maybe this is what he won me over with”, says the beautiful lady from Smolyan. He never treated his children and hers any differently and took equally good care of all of them, was fair and strict when necessary.

Years passed and their children took their own paths in life. The big house grew empty as his children went abroad and to other cities and her daughter continued her studies outside Smolyan.

The home of Assen and Albena felt suddenly empty. In Albena’s home village, a woman became a foster parent – giving Albena the idea to take in another child to look after. They started the process, collected documents and were eventually approved as foster parents. The scarriest part was the Child protection committee – which was interested in everything and asked many questions, but this too passed. When they were finally approved, Assen and Albena had a big party in the garden. Not long after, the social workers contacted Albena, asking if she was ready to take on a child. She was very excited – she had been waiting for this moment. Instinctively she knew that she would be taking care of a little girl, though she never expressed any requirements about the child. She did not mind if it was a Roma child either.

When the call came that a little girl was ready to be placed with her, Albena grew nervous as she had nothing at home to greet the child with. The social workers went to pick Albena up and brought her to see the child, who was waiting in a police car. She was small, unkempt and dirty, wrapped in a big blanket. Her name was Ivka and she was only 1 year and 3 months old. The girl was neglected – the mother had disappeared for a few days. The social workers decided to take the child away until her mother got back on her feet and realised what was important and then to return her when all was well. Ivka was born on the same date as Albena. Albena felt herself growing to love the little girl with every next word and look. “I do not know how you can love a child you do not know, but I could feel it already” says Albena about this moment.

The little girl was brought to Assen and Albena’s home. He was away at work and, on top of everything else, the heater did not start and Albena was just running around the rooms anxiously. One of the social workers went to buy some clothes for the girl and then they gave her a bath. The girl was so afraid of the water that it was a true challenge for everyone. And then numerous friends came along to greet the girl and share in the happiness of Ivka and Albena – bearing gifts.

On the first night, Albena and Assen were so nervous they could not sleep. They would get up constantly to check that the little girl was alright. Her first sickness was also very unnerving – the child only had a slight fever but Albena called an ambulance.

This was the beginning of little Ivka’s happy life. The girl sometimes meets her birth mother, but the foster parents are skeptical that she will be in ready to take her girl back in the near future. Until a long-term solution is found for Ivka, she will remain Assen and Albena’s little princess and will continue to give them joy with her happy and infectious smile.

©UNICEF, 2011

Author: Alexander Milanov

Photograph: Alexander Milanov

This story is based on a real case from the UNICEF project “A Family for Every Child”. UNICEF has the official permission of the Shumen Social Assistance Agency to publish information about the foster mother and the child placed with her.