(Novum) - State Secretary Frans Timmermans (PvdA) will visit the Bulgarian children's home in Mogilino on Friday to see 'the situation with and care for children' with their own eyes. He does this as a result of a British documentary, which was broadcast on Wednesday evening in a shortened version by Netwerk.
January 30, 2008, 9:54 PM
The parentless or disabled children live in a family replacement home. The BBC documentary explains that they live in miserable conditions. Their basic necessities are provided for but they would not receive medical care and therapy. As a result, most children would never have learned to talk.
The documentary also led to great social unrest in Bulgaria. On Monday Timmermans talked about it with his Bulgarian counterpart. Gergana Grancharova said he was shocked by the minister and said he had taken steps to improve the situation in the home in Mogilino. It was also agreed that Timmermans would come to Bulgaria to view the developments.
According to Timmermans, policy in Bulgaria is going 'in the right direction', but there is still a lot to improve in daily practice. The State Secretary wants to continue to support the Bulgarian government in improving Bulgarian youth care. "This is not only about money, but also about knowledge and expertise.