Connecting The Rainbow
One family at a time
Why Bulgaria?

Because in Bulgaria, along with many other places across Eastern Europe,  this is what children with Down syndrome have looming over them if they're not adopted; the vast majority of them are not. And then there are cases like these. 

Slowly, one family at a time, parents are beginning to realize maybe the medical professionals who've been telling them their children will never learn, or have any quality of life, might not know the truth! They're following their hearts, and bringing their children home! 

Shelley Bedford is a three-time adoptive parent through Reece's Rainbow. One of her sons is from Serbia, and the other from Ukraine. She is also the Family Coordinator for Bulgaria and Serbia, along with our military families who are adopting. 

During a recent trip to Bulgaria to meet her newest son, Shelley had the opportunity to meet with a newly-formed parent group in Sofia. 
From Shelley:

While in Bulgaria in December 2009, I had the opportunity to meet with the Association of Parents of Children with Down Syndrome This group of parents has gone against the “norm” in their society, making the decision to keep their children with Down syndrome, and to raise those children in their rightful place in their family. This decision is not without its difficulties and challenges. It is the hope of this organization to raise awareness about potential and capabilities of people with Down Syndrome. They are also trying to educate doctors, therapists, teachers and others in their society, so when children are born with Down syndrome in their country, they are not placed in an orphanage or institution, but are taken home and raised their family. 


They are changing the minds of their society one child at a time, but They need our help!

These families need support. They need to know that they are not alone in their journey. They need to be encouraged as they walk this very new and unfamiliar journey in their country. These families need accurate information. Most of the information provided by doctors, therapists, and teachers is out of date by several decades. Families are not encouraged to be an active part of therapy, they are not given information on how to work with their children at home and they are not encouraged to try to teach their children. Their education system is not yet set up to provide maximum services for children with Down syndrome. Teachers simply don’t know how to teach them in an effective manner.

These families need resources and equipment. Families in Bulgaria pay for everything out of their own pocket, including therapy sessions and school. They don’t have the basic materials needed to work with their children, to help them reach their full potential. What few supplies are available are extremely expensive to purchase in country. 

Now is the time to Connect the Rainbow!

Through Connecting the Rainbow, Reece’s Rainbow is partnering with the APCDS in Bulgaria to provide resources, materials and information these families can use to help their children reach their maximum potential. We will also be working with the ACPDS to create a sponsorship program where families in the US can sponsor families raising a child with Down syndrome in Bulgaria and provide direct 1:1 support and encouragement for that particular family.  Over the long term, we hope to organize a team of professionals and parents to go to Bulgaria for a mission trip to provide workshops and classes for the parents and children, and the professionals who work with them, in Sofia. 

We need your help.

We have organized a wish list of immediate needs for these families. These items will be delivered when I, along with Leah Spring, return to Bulgaria in March or April 2010. This will be the first step in beginning to meet the needs of these families and to provide long term support for them as they raise their children with Down syndrome.

If you’d like to be a part of this project or are interested in becoming a sponsor for a child with Down syndrome in Bulgaria, please follow the links above to find out how you can help us as we Connect the Rainbow!