"This week will stay in my heart forever."

Kostadin

Kostadin lives with his mother, his grandmother and his disabled sister, Daniela, in a single room. They eat, sleep, and cook in this room. They have no bathroom and their only toilet is outdoors, which they share with two other families.

One of Mission Without Borders' staff members, Ventsislav, who has worked with Bulgarian families in poverty for many years, was struck by how tough Kostadin’s life was:

“I’m used to seeing poverty, but this family really touched me. You rarely see three generations forced to live together in one room.”

 

Unable to cope with bringing up her children in poverty Kostadin's mother, Sevda, had a breakdown. After this, his grandmother, Maria, stepped in to help.

Kostadin has had no chance of a childhood. There is no time or space for him to play football with his friends, and the idea of swimming is no more than a dream. Every day he returns home from school to help with chores.

 

 

 

Invited on a Summer Campr

Seeing the desperate need of the family, Mission Without Borders stepped in to support the family through our family sponsorship programme. And, as part of the care the family were offered last year, Kostadin was also asked to go on one of our Summer Camps.

He was overjoyed.

Kostadin said, “I couldn't believe I got to do everything I love for a whole week. The food here is the best I have ever had! I’d also like to say a big thank you to the wonderful volunteers who taught me how to swim.”

“Thank you for giving me a week where I can be myself and enjoy being a kid! No-one has ever given me so much happiness, joy, and support,” he explained.

We make every effort to ensure children feel valued. We find beautiful settings for our Summer Camps, and our staff and volunteers work hard to make them safe, welcoming places

Last summer, 6,638 young people attended Mission Without Borders’ Summer Camps across Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and Ukraine. These Summer Camps give kids lasting memories of joy, the chance to build lasting friendships and an offer of hope for the future. They give kids a break from the very real stresses they face everyday at home and give our staff a chance to spend valuable time with them - helping us to understand how we can better support them and their families

A great deal of hard work goes into prayer and planning all the activities, songs and games, Bible lessons, craft activities, hikes and other surprises at our camps. Each year we need to cover the costs of venue hire, meals, sports equipment and arts materials as well as volunteer training. We can only make these camps happen through the kindness of our supporters and, this year, we hope to raise at least £75,000 to cover the costs of 450 children. As part of this, we are hoping to provide £10,000 to support 93 refugees in Ukraine to attend (see the attached leaflet for more information).

A gift of £24 will cover the costs of a child for a day at Summer Camp.

A very generous gift of £164 would cover the costs of a child for a full week.

Whatever help you can give would mean so much and, together this summer, we can share God's love with those in Eastern Europe like Kostadin, who struggle in the darkness of poverty

SUPPORT OUR SUMMER CAMPS HERE

EXPLORE OUR STORIES

Follow us and spread the word

91p in every £1 raised is spent directly on our work with children and families