Slavcho's story

 

Slavcho's story:
Slavcho is the most needy of children in this institute, his approximate age is 15 - 16 years old, he was picked up by the police and escorted to Stoikite in June 2007 suffering from malnutrition and starvation, he has autism it is not known how long he tried to survive alone. Slavcho did not speak up until one week ago, he loves music. He does not understand and still to this day that his meals will come to him on a regular basis, and eats soil to fill his stomach and does not understand that this is not food. He also digs for worms and will eat any kind of insects.

He now gets fed regular good wholesome food but things will take longer for him to adjust. It is clear that he has been abused in every possible way and he does not trust people easily, he needs help dressing etc and most of the day he spends alone as the other children taunt him and pick on him as he is the weakest. He is still very much under weight and has started to trust Jasmine and me. He said thank you to me the other day and does not understand why people would want to give him things and gets very confused. Since receiving his gifts he has eaten and slept in the clothes and refuses to take them off, including the gloves, as he feels someone will take them away.

Slavcho and I went for pizza today, as I try to get him away from the others when I can. I also purchased some boots for him today, and he cried an said ""mine mine mine mine"" in Bulgarian. I think that he will be sleeping in them tonight. He had running shoes with holes underneath, his feet were in bad condition but the boots should make a big difference. Slavcho is also coming to my home for a sleep over with Jasmine on Saturday night. I will run him a hot bubble bath and we will have a nice Disney movie in Bulgarian or play some pool. He needs love and affection, he also needs warmth and support. I find it so hard to walk away from this boy as he does not deserve to be bullied all the time. Amanda

Poems for SLAVCHO by Amanda

Laying here in the freezing cold,
every day I’m growing old.
Growing older by every minute,
Am I truly living in it?
In the here and in the now or in the future or in past,
I wish I had love and life pure freedom at last.
Dying on the inside out, so many times a day,
even though I take the time to hope and to pray.

Winter comes and winter goes, when will it be gone, I duly asked?
~ Finished being winter at last?
I look inside my heart and find,
the winter I'm trying to get rid of is mine.
I look inside my heart,
this life it is tearing me apart.
Let it go and be free,
I'm down on my bending knee.
Hoping for a better tomorrow,
My life is a living horror.
yearning for a brighter future,
waiting for the feel of summer!
Waiting......... Waiting......... Waiting.........

They filled his world with utmost bliss
Then left him in Stoikite without a single goodbye kiss
Now he feels he’s all alone
His aching hearts has turned to stone
People went and people came
But their love is just not the same
He thinks of his parents feeling rejected again and again
As he waits his parents open arms and love, but Yet it’s all in vain

Soon he’ll be a full-grown man,
And fate holds one more ugly plan.
On his 18th birthday he’ll be told to leave,
He’ll will be given no chances and no reprieve.
With no money in his pockets, just the clothes upon his back,
Some bread, some water held in the tatters of his rucksack.

With nothing to offer by way of grades nor skill
No one will offer him a job to fullfil .
He’ll have to beg, he’ll have to steel, just to make his two ends meet
Harsh cold days and winter nights, just surviving with barely enough food to eat.
Is he alive or his he dead
There is no difference inside his head.
Is there an end for this boy’s own sorrow,
Or will it be the same tomorrow?
An end to this boys misery there is not
just another life that the world has forgot.

Slavcho, he is silenced by his past,
Another memory that will always last.
The silent boy that they had found,
A victim that would make no sound.

Another day over, time for bed,
Time for Slavcho to rest his head.
As Slavcho slept deep in the night,
The boys, they gave him an awful fright.

They stripped him naked and held him tight,
As they lit the flame alight.
Then they lit his pubic hair,
Just for fun, a little scare.

The blanket, it did catch on fire,
The flames they went higher and higher.
Slavcho jumped and did a spin,
The blazing blanket, it fell on him.

Life is full of twists and turns,
This is how Slavcho sustained his burns.
His private parts were burned quite bad,
A joke gone wrong, the boys had, had

A story so very sad.
Never play with fire and flame,
Not a joke, not a game.

orphanage stoikite, pamporovo, bulgaria
Copyright © 2007 Andie Musson