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SAV Media’s, Demelza Sampson, is hoping to help improve the lives of some of the most deprived children in Europe when she heads out to an orphanage in Bulgaria this Friday.  
Demelza, who works as Client Liaison Manager for SAV Media in Exeter, ITV’s Emmerdale and runs her own face painting business www.scrynaptic.weebly.com, is joining local charity The House of Rachel and staff and students from Okehampton College to spend a week at the Barzitsa Orphanage - which is home to around eighty 4-18 year olds - in a remote village in eastern Bulgaria. Whilst there they hope to build the children's confidence, motivation and self esteem and teach them new skills by running summer-school workshops in sports, crafts and music.  ‘The work we’re doing is so important’ said Demelza. ‘Summertime when they’re not at school is when the children are at their most vulnerable - so we’re helping to protect them from mixing with criminal gangs and getting into trouble whilst having fun and developing new skills along the way. I’m also planning on taking some of my face painting kit with me - it will be interesting to see what the children make of it!’
 
This visit comes after several previous successful trips run by the House of Rachel, including one to replace dilapidated windows and another to supply them with a minibus. Andrew Morgan, the charity’s founder, is delighted to be taking students and volunteers out to Bulgaria again stressing how much it means to the orphans to know that someone out there cares enough about them to keep coming back; 'The children and staff are deeply moved that we are prepared to travel the breadth of Europe to spend time playing with the children. It is impossible to put into words the value of the time we spend together and whilst it is intended as an act of giving, we gain so much more in return.'
 
But Demelza is not expecting this trip to be all fun and games: 'I can't wait to go but I also know that it's going to be a tough week as well as hopefully a rewarding one. Those kids will have been through such traumas in their short lives and staffing levels are pitifully low at the orphanage so they get very little love and attention. I think it will be a bit of an emotional roller coaster, challenging and with temperatures likely to be well over 30 degrees, it's going to be physically demanding too.'

As a direct result of the charity's work, the Bulgarian government has now taken notice of the poor provision for its country's orphans and has agreed to take over funding and completion of one of The House of Rachel renovation projects. In addition to this they also plan to build an extension to house a rehab centre for orphans with physical difficulties and a transition home for young adults to prepare them for life outside the state care system and better protect them from being the victims of criminal gangs, pimps and traffickers. This is the best possible result, allowing The House of Rachel to focus its resources on the many other improvement plans they have for the children. None of this valuable work could take place without the generous support of local people and businesses. If you would like to know more about The House of Rachel or wish to volunteer or donate please visit their website at www.houseofrachel.org.