The charitable organisation that ensures every child has the right to an education in a tailored learning environment
As many will know, Haut-Lac International Bilingual School is divided into 4 different houses, each supporting a different charity. Over the winter holidays, the Jura House Leader, Christine Mineva travelled to Bulgaria with her family to visit the Karin Dom Foundation. She has written a few words to describe the experience.
“Nothing teaches character better than generosity.” ~Jim Rohn
Over the holidays, I was fortunate to be able to visit the site of the Jura House charity, The Karin Dom Foundation, in Varna, Bulgaria with my family. This was a notable meeting for several reasons, such as the fact we got to meet directly with the Director of Karin Dom and its Head of Marketing and International Sponsorship for the first time, and we were able to hand over the donated toys collected by Haut-Lac.
What does the charity do?
My family and I were given a tour of the main building of Karin Dom, which had been the multi-generational original home of the Stancioff family. The international philanthropist and diplomat, Mr. Ivan Stancioff founded Karin Dom in 1996 in order to help families with children who have special needs by providing them with educational, social and health services so that they can be successful in mainstream schools and within their communities. The building was built in 1909 by the Stancioff family, and is situated in an expansive park and “learning garden” overlooking the Black Sea.
What does the charity already do for its young wards?
Karin Dom has almost a dozen classrooms and workspaces that are adapted to working with various types of children in different ways. From specially designed wheelchairs and “mobile work-chairs” to sensory rooms and private individualised work areas, Karin Dom is able to meet the short- and long-term needs of its children and families on a day-to-day basis. However, there is a clear need to expand the campus and offer more resources to families, especially those living outside the greater Varna metropolitan area.
What has the Haut-Lac community managed to do for Karin Dom?
My family and I presented Karin Dom with the gently-used collected by Emma and Charlotte in DP1 (16-17 years old) as part of their CAS project (Creativity, Activity, Service). The toys will be used in various classrooms with children, specifically those following the Montessori learning method.
Karin Dom was very grateful for our visit and our work to date with them. We have established a plan of support for future projects and look forward to our continued collaboration! Карин Дом, благодарим ви за вашето приателство!
Check out the photos of our visit here
(Here you will see the photos I took on our tour of the original Karin Dom building, where therapy and services are offered to children and families. You will also see the various classrooms that are used for learning and therapy as well as the presentation of the Montessori toys we collected.)
Written by Christine Mineva
