Dear editor,

I was very disturbed this evening whilst watching a programme on UK TV about the children's Institute, in Mogilino, Bulgaria. A lot of the carers in this place looked very healthy if not overweight, where as a lot of the children were by all accounts starving to death and looked like they were prisoners of a war camp.

I found the director of the place to be uncaring in the sense all she wanted was a computer, not more staff that she so obviously needed.

These children were dosed up, with tranquillisers. Most had not been outside of the institute. I personally found it horrendous that in this day and age children were subject to this kind of neglect and cruelty.

Given the chance, love, education, training, I am sure they would be able to contribute greatly, but they are treated worse than animals. Anyone who has a heart and a conscience would hear the cry of those children.

Really I think that your agency should be trying to do something to help these neglected children. You have the clout behind you, its amazing what the media can do today.

What needs to be educated is people's ways of thinking towards your children, children who have various disabilities of different kinds, who in a loving environment would more than likely progress.

I have worked with people who have severe learning difficulties and challenging behaviour. They have 24-hour care, go out regularly, go on holiday, go for meals in the pub, and even have a few drinks. They are loved and cared for by the staff.

In comparison, I see these institutes like the UK of old, of the UK that most of us are ashamed off, apart from the ignorant few, who are for some reason afraid of people who have this type of disability, who knows how the people I have cared for would have turned out, if they hadn't have been in the Old institutes and lived out most of there lives there.

Regards,

Rachel Brent

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