Free Medical Access for Teenage Mothers, Bulgaria

Dear donor,

Firstly, we would like to wish you Happy New Year! May this year bring lots of happiness, new goals and inspirations and great achievements.

Thank you for your continuous support in 2018! It was our first year on the Global Giving platform, and so far it’s been an incredible journey that has given us additional tools to help the most vulnerable in Bulgaria’s capital.

Thanks to our campaigns and your generous help throughout the year, we’ve managed to raise $18,102!

We’ve been supported by 90 unique donors and 1 recurring donor who donates monthly to our cause. We appreciate your generosity, and we will continue to appeal to all our friends to keep supporting us so that we can meet our target and provide all the necessary neonatal and pediatric medical equipment needed to ensure adequate

Last year we spent 15% of raised funds on equipment. So far we've purchased a new gynecological chair, a fetal monitor, a fetal doppler, a baby scale, a contactless thermometer, and a blood pressure monitor. The remainder of funds will be used to purchase an ultra-sound machine and colposcopy. We are also hopeful that 2019 will bring opportunities to fund a hospital bed, pulse oximeter, and an autoclave.

With these gifts, our medical center will be fully equipped to meet a range of community needs.

In 2019, our team began working on a video production to show you the story of the disadvantaged children and mothers in Sofia and our mission to help them. Stay tuned!

Thank you again for your good hearts and happy 2019!

“She is healthy and growing normally,” exclaimed Roza, a midwife who volunteers every third Friday of the month at the Health and Social Development Foundation center located in the biggest Roma neighborhood in Sofia, Bulgaria. She had just recorded the growth of baby Anna and examined her teenage mother Maria for any outstanding health-related issues. Roza is the only source of medical counselling for many uninsured, disadvantaged mothers who lack access to the Bulgarian healthcare system.

Maria, who is currently 17, was forced to drop out of high school due to her pregnancy. She lives together with her partner Miro and 4 members of his extended family in a small house in the same segregated neighborhood. “I’m meeting Roza for the first time. I’ve heard about the free medical appointments through my friend Iva, who also comes here with her daughter. I visit the center’s food kitchen every day to collect food for Anna but I never knew that we could get a checkup as well. I am extremely happy to know that Anna has grown 28 cm in one year and that she is all well and healthy,” Maria explains.

Maria and a line of disadvantaged women waiting outside Roza’s tiny office depend on your help to get pre and postnatal examinations. TSA is currently in the process of acquiring an ultrasound machine and additional medical equipment to ensure that those at risk have access to quality healthcare. Together with our partners from the Health and Social Development Foundation, who provided the facilities, and our network of volunteers, we are committed to put an end to preventable deaths of vulnerable mothers and children.