Eastern Europe Humanitarian Aid

In September of 2000 and February of 2001, staff member Kathy Junk was able to travel to the Mother and Children’s Home orphanage in Yambol, Bulgaria. One of the reasons for this trip was so that Kathy could complete the adoption of her son, Mitko, but these trips also involved bringing humanitarian aid to this orphanage. On behalf of WIA, Kathy donated many beautiful and warm handmade blankets to help the children stay warm on cold winter nights. She also brought along a suitcase full of new toys for all the children at the orphanage as well as new socks, underwear, hair clips, soap, toothpaste and other personal items for the children. All of these items were donated by family and personal friends of Kathy Junk. WIA also donated money to purchase diapers for the babies, something the orphanage was in constant need of.

Kathy’s initial visit in September of 2000 also helped strengthen relationships between Bulgarian attorneys and adoption officials in Sofia. She had several meetings with many Bulgarian officials and was able to explain the mission of WIA, which is to find loving homes for orphaned children. In a country in which a family considers one child normal and two children a rarity, it was difficult for adoption officials to understand why families here in the U.S. would want to adopt a child who was of Roma descent or a child who had special needs. Kathy enjoyed the opportunity to explain the American way of life to these officials, and to tell them that there are many families who have the financial means and enough love in their heart to share with these children who so desperately need help.

While many of the people of Bulgaria were poor, they worked very hard to become self sufficient after gaining their freedom from a repressive type of government. The country-side in Bulgaria is very beautiful and when traveling in the mountains Kathy noted that the trees and surrounding countryside and forests looked much like the Wasatch Mountains of Utah.

Over the years WIA has continued to support the orphanages in Bulgaria. We have donated money to purchase milk, food and other supplies for the children. We have repaired the physical facilities of many orphanages, and helped to install a new roof on one of the buildings because water was dripping on to the children’s beds. We paid to have new plumbing installed in an orphanage – new sinks installed at children height, toilets for both the children and the staff, and hot water heaters that replaced the old worn out ones that no longer produced hot water. We sent toys so the children would have something to play with, and clothing so the children would have nice things to wear. We believe that all children in the world deserve a family, but we recognize many times a family will never be available for a child. Because we want to impact the lives of children for good, providing the necessities of life for those children who remain in and who are reared in orphanages continue to be a priority for WIA.