Back in 2016, I left the UK and moved into Nadezhda, (a very large and severely impoverished Romani ghetto in Sliven, Bulgaria)

I lived there for almost 2 years and whilst there I built up relationships with the locals and with the help of my good friend Natasha Chierico who fell in love with Nadezhda and visited me regularly...

About Nadezhda

Nadezhda is boxed in by tall walls surrounding it, there are only a few exits and many people born and raised there never leave. It is less than 500m in length from the main entrance to the dump at the back. Hugely overpopulated, with over 30,000 residents. It is built up of badly built houses all crammed up next to each other, there is no open land or greenery and some of the roads are so narrow that you cannot even drive a small car down them let alone a fire engine or ambulance.

Families are living without basic essentials, no kitchens or bathrooms, no beds, no electricity and no running water and there are so many hungry children walking the streets with nothing to do, many people in Nadezhda are illiterate, girls as young as 12 are sold into marriage, children are being dragged up and end up becoming parents whilst they are still children themselves and due to the lack of education, they fall into the same poverty cycle. The greatest needs are these

Sharing the gospel

The hardest thing about preaching the gospel in Nadezhda is the language barrier, they have their own Romani language which is very basic and many are also illiterate, however, they are so cut off from society that they aren't Westernised and mostly all believe in God, when the gospel is preached salvation comes easy

Education

many children never attend school for reasons like racism, oppression, bullying and fear of trafficking. We regularly hold lessons, prayer meetings, playgroups and other events in an extension that is being built at Bojidars house, this is a work in progress. Children are encouraged to attend Bulgarian school but we offer extra help and support... prioritising these topics, Learning to pray, Teaching bible stories and scripture, and Learning Bulgarian. The children will stand a better chance of coping and fitting in at school and outside of the community if they speak Bulgarian as well as their own Romani language. Basic English, health and hygiene and much more learning is available and meals are also prepared for those who attend

Provision

We regularly hand out hot food because people are living on things like bread and salami and often go days without any food at all, There are a few areas in Nadezhda where the poverty is so extreme, that families are facing starvation. The largest one is the dump, the children living there spend their whole day rummaging through the rubbish looking for sellable items like scrap metal, just to buy a little food, so, with the help of Bojidars mum Zlatka, his wife Lilyanna and sisters Stoyanka and Elena, we started cooking huge pots of food, putting it into plastic cups and carrying it down to them in crates.

It took months to build up trust with these families, they were so desperate for food that there was so much pushing and shoving, food got spilt and even riots broke out, just for a cup of hot food but as time went on and we started building trust and relationships it became a peaceful experience, now when we go down there they welcome us as if we are family just like Bojidars family did when we first arrived, and they have reported back that they have started to feel well.

Nicknamed the Naked Gypsies, many families only have the clothes they are wearing and will stay dressed in the same outfit for weeks at a time, day and night, or worse, no clothes at all. So one of the biggest projects is shipping over donated clothing.

Families are living in shocking conditions, some with rain falling inside their homes. Throughout the years when we have been able to, we have blessed many families with home improvements, we have totally rebuilt around 10 homes, installed wet rooms, toilets, doors and windows and provided many families with beds, food packages, bedding and other gifts like goodie bags for the children, and even flowers for the ladies on women's day, also, wood burning stoves and wood to burn as Romany families use plastic and other flammable material found at the dump and in bins to heat their homes.

Health pre and postnatal care

the death rate in Bulgaria is shockingly high, and it is worse inside the Roma communities, children are being raised from old wives' tales, and Many babies don't make it to a year old, we have assisted many families with medical costs and we provide hygiene items like baby supplies and sanitary towels. Both Anna and Natasha are mums to 4 children, who they are raising to walk in relationship with God and in the fruits of the spirit and they take every opportunity to sow wisdom into the mums of Nadezhda.

Fun

Always looking for new ways to have fun times and make memories with the children living in the ghetto like day trips, playing games and also teaching the children to worship dance with flags and ribbons

In 2018 Anna relocated back to the UK she currently takes 3-week mission trips with Natasha every 6 weeks and the rest of team HOPE continues working around the clock to keep things running in their absence, Anna and Natasha spend the time they are home updating sponsors and supporters and collecting supplies for their next trip

I'd just like to leave you with a wonderful fact

The English translation for Nadezhda is Hope
We live work and sow in Hope