We at Thinkshield Ltd are aware of our corporate responsibility towards people who are less fortunate than us and we believe that it is our duty to put back some of what we receive.

This year we have decided to do a 3-peak challenge in Yorkshire to raise money for a good cause. We think that we are a team fit enough to do it, but we will see in at the end of the challenge. The charity we chose is in Bulgaria and more specifically St. Nicolas Orphanage in Novi Han.

Why Bulgaria?

Bulgaria joined EU in 2007,but it still remains one of the poorest countries in it. If we take into account the low GDP and the average salary of around £200 that is not a very good indicator for the purchase capability of the Bulgarian people. The willingness of giving money for charity is constrained by the bad economy and low salaries. In addition the prices are high and so the people are not able to give money for charity.

Why St. Nicolas orphanage?

St. Nicolas orphanage is situated in a town called Novi Han, which is around 30 km east of Sofia and is situated in the yard of St. Trinity Church. It was started in 1988 by Father Ivan Ivanov in order to shelter homeless children. With the help of volunteers and sponsors the orphanage now houses 113 people of whom 70 are children from infants to 18 years old. Father Ivan Ivanov manages the orphanage and is involved with finding people to help him to expand the orphanage and take more children. His good heart gave him the award "Bulgarian of the year" given from the President of Bulgaria. In one of his interviews Father Ivan said that the hardest thing for him to do is to "say no to a child who wants to come into the orphanage".

All the money received by the orphanage is donated by caring individuals constrained by a very poor economy. The orphanage does not get any support from the government and it only relies on people with a willingness to help. One of the obvious indicators that it needs sponsorship is that the website is not supported and maintained regularly which is the main place where you can get information about current projects and updates.

Watch this short video with Nikolay to find out a bit more about why we've chosen to support an orphanage in Bulgaria.