Georgi

Katya visted her son Georgi at every opportunity when he was in an institution for babies. She had been persuaded to give him up at birth because she and her husband had no regular income and four other children to care for. They were told they would be able to take him back after a few months but, with no services to support families available to them, their situation didn’t improve and it looked likely that Georgi would remain in institutional care long term.

At twelve months old however, Georgi came back to live with his parents and four brothers thanks to a family support service run by a local NGO.

The cost of Georgi growing up with his family rather than in institutional care was some repairs to the family home, some clothes and a few essential baby items such as a bed for Georgi, a buggy and a potty.

Georgi returned visibly damaged by his time in the institution. He was a frightened, withdrawn, sad little boy having spent most of his life alone in a cot without any love, affection or sense of security. Back in his family he is beginning to recover and learning to feel secure in his family.