"Black, white, yellow or green, a child is a child," says Albena Krumova, 47-year-old. Who shares the challenge of being a foster parent with Nadezhda Angelova, 50 in the Plovdiv district "Stolipinovo". Although they have their own large families and have raised their own children, they miss the larks and laughter of children. This is the reason they took on the challenge of teaching more children to love and they are willing to do it over and over again.

"I am charmed by the circumstances these children are in and the exemplary care they are being given", says Dobrinka Bineva, administrator of the project "I Too Have A Family" at the Plovdiv Municipality about Albena and Nadezhda.

"We love kids very much. I have three older girls, the youngest is in 11th grade. My husband and I decided to take in another child. I am very pleased and he feels the same about the fact the child has love, care and everything it needs. The child came to our home when he was one year and two months old. It has been a year and four months since we started caring for him. We take care for him like we do our own children, I even give him more because he is so young. He is a nice, tough kid. I love him like he is my own chlid," Nadezhda is glad to share with us. Foster care is a measure for child protection and the Court decides how long  the placement period will be.

She has already been through the evaluation process and the 3-month training period, which candidates are obliged to pass once they submit applications for foster parents. There is a profile created for every child, which helps the determine which foster family is the most suitable for them.

Nadezhda worked in the shoe factory "Flavia" - one of the feathers in Plovdiv’s cap, for 24 years. Now she has devoted herself entirely to being a mother. "My husband is very happy, we discussed it and with his consent made the decision to take the child in. Everybody loves him," the woman shares. She revealed that her husband and her had secretly hoped to become foster parents of a girl, because they know how to take care of girls, but this boy was their destiny and they do not regret it at all. The little boy was taken out of his biological parents’ home and the original plan social workers foresaw was for him to be reintegrated, i.e. returned to his parents and his stay at Nadezhda’s house was supposed to last one year. Subsequently, however, this plan was revised and the child is due to be adopted. Until this happens, he will live at Nadezhda’s.

Albena and her husband went to see a doctor together. In the doctor’s office they spotted a pile of leaflets with information about what it means to be a professional parent. "My husband just looked at me and said - I understood you have a weakness for children. We said “Why not?” and we made the decision  together." And that is how their story began. "We have three children – two boys of 27 and 24 and a girl, 19, we have a granddaughter, three years and three months old. My husband and I love each other very much. Everyone calls us Romeo and Juliet,” says Albena.

"We were happy. A girl, a boy – it doesn’t matter, children are equal. I have a weakness for boys. No matter how grown up they are, they always need a kiss from me ", philosophically muses Albena about the “strong” half of mankind.

The day is both joyful and sad for her, because she has just "handed over" the boy to his adoptive parents. They all cried, but she feels pleased: "I'm not worried about him. They are very nice people. He wept too. The evening before the separation I told him the truth. Before that I had lied - he kept asking "Grandma, me mommy?", and I told him that his mother and father were saving money, but would one day come to take him home. Thus, I said, “Dear, they are going to take you with them and you have to listen to them, they have gathered the money. I prayed for him to have a good family...".

The little boy came to her home after the third attempt. She has been approved to take in two other children and just before each placement, it turned out that they were on the list for international adoption. "He was placed at our home on the 10^th of July last year. He was three years old, coming from the home “Mother and Baby”," recalls Albena. His birth mother went abroad, his father was in prison and it was decided that there was a risk for his life.

The child was pretty stressed. He had lived outside. He was very aggressive, he was hitting and beating, did not let anyone touch him. He knew nothing, he did not even know how to speak, except for a few words in Turkish, or how to eat. He would beat the dolls before putting them to sleep," says Albena. Children know best whether you love them. In three or four months his behavior drastically changed, he calmed down. Foster care generally encourages the relationship with the biological family, but in this case the mother has not shown interest in his well-being. "We met her by chance on the street. He ran away from her, because he was scared. He said to my daughter - Sis, let’s go, I want to go home," recalls Albena. And adds with grief: "She beat him. Here he was reborn. It is not his fault. Now he embraces everyone and gives kisses."

Both Nadezhda and Albena say they feel satisfied with their remuneration, but would prefer that their contract be an employment contract, not a civil one*, but they are aware that these are the rules. "The financial support is for food, clothing, medicines, I think if it was 400 BGN, it would be better" suggests Albena shyly, while Nadezhda nods her head in approval. "The other day we bought a cot and only it cost us 360 ​​BGN," she said. Despite all the emotions and feelings they both know that caring for the children is temporary - until they find their real future families. The project "I have a family, too" gives a chance to many children and families and warms their hearts. All this becomes a reality with the support of the Social Fund of the EU through the Operational Programme for Human Resource Development. To change a human destiny for the better, to help and give a chance to a child who needs love and care - this is the purpose behind the plan "Take me In" of the operational programme.

"Presa" Newspaper, 29^th July 2014

* According to Bulgarian labour law there two forms of employment contract. The so called civil or work contract outlines the terms of part-time work. The rights of employees are limited under this form of contracting. The employment contract is a full-time contract with better terms and conditions for employees. Click here for more information!