ZOV – giving vulnerable children a better chance in life Jacob Rose MTS

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“I’d taken the kids on a trip, we’d been travelling for hours, the kids were amazing. When we finally got to the historic place torrential rain suddenly started. I thought it would be a disaster, but the kids, they were dancing in the rain. They didn’t care the bus came two hours late, or that it was pouring down, they were just so happy to be on a trip.”

ZOV is a charity that has had a huge impact on hundreds of disadvantaged children in Bulgaria. In Bulgarian, ‘ZOV’ means a cry for help. ZOV supports children from across Bulgaria who have had no one to care for them – children who have been abandoned, orphaned, neglected, abused or who are living with severe disabilities. ZOV relies entirely on donations and all of the money donated is used only for the kids.

Although they are a relatively small charity, it has been incredibly successful, not just in helping the hundreds of children they’ve closely worked with, but also in inspiring charities around the world through how they support children. They have received 19 awards for the amazing work they do. In Bulgaria ZOV has a team of 20 specialists, who are experts in caring for children, as well as around 100 student volunteers, who provide one to one support and educational assistance. The money raised goes to trips with the children, giving them opportunities to find things they enjoy, giving them educational and emotional support and much more. I had the honour to interview Charlotte, the director of ZOV:

 

How has ZOV progressed since it started and where do you see it in ten years from now?

“We started off quite small, but now the number of programmes have increased and we work with more children from many different situations. We offer mentoring, educational support, paid work experience and have developed what we do so much. Ultimately, a charity’s goal is to not be needed anymore. Many of the original children have already got older and found their way in life, they have gone into jobs and now lead independent lives.  A number of the mentors are now working in the social care field, in the homes we support, with one centre having 90% of their staff starting off as mentors in our programme. Hopefully this cycle of people helping each other will continue.”

 

Tell me a story about a boy whose life has been changed by ZOV

“There was a boy who was lonely, badly behaved, he didn’t have friends and he was seen to be very difficult. But one day, I saw him playing on a piano, I realised he had a special gift. ZOV paid for him to have piano lessons. Once he found that thing he was good at, he completely changed. He was happier and people started to listen to him and spend time with him. He ended up being a part time pianist and we provided him with key work experience so he could find work when he left the home. He still plays piano to this day in the local town. Music saved him, it was his way of expressing himself when he hadn’t found any other way. Finding something a child likes and spending time with them doing it, can really make a huge impact on their life.”

 

Every year ZOV provides a Christmas party and Christmas presents for the children they work with. Their current Christmas appeal is raising money so that each one of the 190 children they support can get a present they like. The majority of them don’t have parents or aren’t in positions to afford a present and so ZOV makes sure that every child gets something they want, and a visit from Father Christmas, or a fairy!

 

To find out more about ZOV, here is the link to their website: www.zov.org.uk

You can donate for ZOV’s Christmas appeal by using the link here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/zovchristmas2021





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