By Valerie Fry
BYU students can now intern in Bulgaria to help take care of orphans at more than 20 orphanages.
Interns can work for One Heart Bulgaria, a non-profit organization based in Providence, Utah, that offers humanitarian aid, medical services and now internships in Bulgaria. The organization was founded by Deborah Gardner, a BYU graduate who was introduced to the poor conditions on her mission in Bulgaria.
BYU interns are already doing similar work in Romania and many South American countries but “Bulgaria just hasn”t had people get involved,” said Roberta Magarrell, administrator and coordinator of internships at the School of Family Life.
“Anyone who”s interested in helping toward the growth of young people, most of whom have come off the street or been abandoned, this is a great opportunity to use your education,” Magarrell said.
Moved and saddened by the conditions of the children in Bulgarian orphanages, Deborah Gardner worked in her free time to create One Heart Bulgaria. Last year she was awarded the Service to Family Award from BYU and began an immunization program, orphanage renovations, an orphan nurturing program and a hydrocephalus program that provides life-saving shunts and other surgeries for infants and young children. Additionally, Gardner created a jobs program and a halfway home for teenagers, according to the Web site.
“It seems that a lot of humanitarian aid goes to Africa, Romania and Russia,” Gardner said. “I would just love for Bulgaria to get discovered.”.
One Heart Bulgaria works with the 291 orphanages in Bulgaria, helping more than 14,000 orphans.
Similar to those in Romania, many parents in Bulgaria are so poor that many of them cannot take care of their own children, so they feel they need to send them to an orphanage to gain a chance for a better life. However, the government does not take much interest in the orphanages, so the children still live in horrible conditions, Gardner said.
One of the greatest things about Bulgaria is that living there is inexpensive, especially when compared to student internships in other countries, said Jeff Swift, an internship director and student at BYU.
“These are children, and whether or not they are my next-door neighbor or not, they are still little kids and they deserve a fair chance at life, a chance to make a difference,” said Swift, who recently served an LDS mission in Bulgaria.
Most interns work with orphans who are 7 to 18 years old. They live in the orphanages and participate in regular daily activities, such as helping with homework, taking the children to school, talking with them and playing with them at night. Interns may also have the opportunity to teach classes such as English or music, and participate in service projects.
Interns in Bulgaria work directly with the field director, Nikolai Gavazov, who will help them out with their housing and any problems they may have during their internship. Students can spend anywhere from four weeks to six months in Bulgaria.
“It”s very life changing for the interns who go to do this,” Gardner said. “They said it just changes their life. You can”t help but have your life changed after seeing this. You see the things that you are doing over there and that they are actually helping and you just go to keep doing it!”
Students who apply do not need to be fluent in Bulgarian, but they will learn the basics of the language. For more information on the internship program e-mail , or visit www.oneheart-bg.org.
