Bulgaria.
Before Capernaum was approached to do to a therapy mission trip to Bulgaria,
most of us couldn’t find Bulgaria on a map, and none of us really knew anything
about the country. Then Bonna, one of Capernaum’s co-owners, met Steve and
Tanja Pankratz. Steve and Tanja are Minnesota missionaries who have dedicated
the last 10 years of their lives to spreading the word and love of God in
Bulgaria. The day after hearing their story at a church service, Bonna and
Tanja were connected and the desire to serve together began.
Bulgaria is a small county in the Balkans that is still
largely influenced by Communism. Though it is officially part of the European
Union, Bulgaria has been slow to make changes. It is one of the oldest
countries in Europe. The government is corrupt with mobsters. The healthcare
system is decades behind that of America. The education system in outdated.
Overall, the need is great.
As a whole, Bulgaria does not accept people with
disabilities. It is largely believed that babies who are born with disabilities
should be aborted, abandoned or isolated.
Steven and Tanja have a son with Down Syndrome who was born in Bulgaria.
After delivery, instead of the medical staff congratulating them for the birth
of their precious son, the doctors yelled at Tanja for not doing testing to
detect Down Syndrome and aborting their child. Steve and Tanja then changed the
focus of their mission to further include teaching love, acceptance, and
inclusion for children and adults with disabilities.
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| View of the Rila Mountains |
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| Rila Monastery in Bulgaria |
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| Who could resist that sweet smile? |
So now, Capernaum accepted the challenge to spend one week
in Bulgaria. We had a big task in front of us. How could we possibly influence
a whole healthcare system? How could we soften the views of so many people? How
could we encourage the school system to allow children with disabilities to
participate? Could we really make a difference?
While in Bulgaria, a few members of the team spent time at
an orphanage. The orphanage workers were serious about their jobs and made sure
that all of the children were fed, dressed, and clean. Unfortunately, there was
limited stimulation and the relationship piece that is so vital to a child’s
emotional, social, and physical development was extremely lacking. Kinesiologists worked tirelessly to
provide passive movement techniques that were popular in America in the 1940s
but have since been proven to be ineffective. A 10-year-old was fed from a
bottle because no one knew how to help introduce new textures to a sensory
defensive child.
At the
orphanage, we met a young boy named Vanko who had a diagnosis of cerebral palsy
and autism. Vanko did not have any speech and was not provided with any other
ways to communicate. The orphanage workers reported that he frequently became
aggressive and hit the workers. During our evaluation, Vanko stole our hearts
as a young boy who wanted to interact. He couldn’t walk, but he wanted to play.
He couldn’t talk, but he wanted to communicate. We emphasized to his
care-takers that all behavior IS communication. We also provided suggestions
for using sign language, pictures, and visuals to help give Vanko a voice. We
talked about letting Vanko make choices and take some ownership over his body.
The next day, an orphanage worker reported that when Vanko started to show that
he was frustrated, instead of ignoring him or separating him from the group,
she asked him if he was hungry. Vanko pulled himself to the table. She asked if
he wanted an apple. Vanko took the apple and happily ate the whole thing.
Nobody had ever given Vanko a choice before and with this simple change to the
way they interact with Vanko, he now had some power. For Vanko, we made a difference!
Throughout the week, the whole team spent a lot of time at a
Christian school in which Steve and Tanja are very involved. Most schools in
Bulgaria do not allow children with disabilities. If they are allowed, they are
often placed in the back of the classroom and not acknowledged. This school is
the first of its kind to accept, include, teach, and embrace children with disabilities.
Most Bulgarians are not Christian, but this school accepts people of all faiths.
They strive to teach Christianity through leading by example. Though the hearts
of the teachers are in the right place, Bulgarian colleges do not teach about
disabilities and special education. Many of the teachers were challenged in
finding ways to include all kids within their classrooms. The Capernaum
therapists led four in-services for the school staff and
parents. We taught about adapting the curriculum to include all learning styles
and levels. We taught about auditory memory skills, executive function skills,
and sensory issues. We gave the teachers and parents some tools to help their
children access the education they were providing. For those teachers, parents and students, we made a difference!
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| The school in Sofia, Bulgaria |
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| Julie completing a fine motor assessment. |
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| Wheelchair/seating assessments |
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| Sarah and an adorable new friend! |
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| Swinging... |
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| jumping... |
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| balancing... |
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| and having fun!!! |
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| One of four presentations. We presented in English while looking at notes on our iPads. Tanja translated the Power Point slides into Bulgaria before the presentation and also interpreted throughout. |
While in Bulgaria, the team completed over 50 evaluations!
We assessed gross motor skills, fine motor skills, feeding skills, sensory
processing skills, social skills, memory, and language. We spent time in
classrooms. We helped establish more appropriate seating arrangements and wheelchair
fittings. We modeled therapy techniques for parents. We visited a Syrian
refugee camp to listen to stories, provide food and prayer, and meet with one
child with special needs. We wrote evaluations for each child and provided
recommendations to hopefully make a functional difference in each of their
lives. For those families, we made a
difference!
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| Assessing a young child at the refugee camp. |
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| Writing reports whenever we had a chance! |
There is no such thing in Bulgaria as well-child visits, so
a few of our evaluations were for typically developing kids whose parents just
wanted to check-in and make sure everything was on track. We were able to
provide those parents with peace of mind and boost the confidence of those kids
by reassuring them about how awesome they were. For those families, we made a difference!
On Sunday, we attended church with the Pankratz family. The
service included a small group of Christians who were planting a church of
their own in a small office building. Following a flood, the Sunday school room
was almost empty, the walls were dirty and cracked and the floor was cold and
dingy. Two men joined us on our trip and they spent everyday at the church,
painting, cleaning, organizing, building, and bring new life the surroundings! For that congregation, we made a difference!
We maybe didn’t change the world, but we met some incredible
kids! We shared information with dedicated teachers and helped support some amazing
parents. We grew as a team and made connections that will last a lifetime. WE
MADE A DIFFERENCE!
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| The team with Tanja and the director of the school. |
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| The team at a Bulgaria opera on our last night. |
