November/December/January 2005-2006


Feature Articles:


Mooseheart Model of Care Spreads Around the Globe

Campus Trainers, Caregivers Teach
Proven Techniques to Representatives from Bulgarian Orphanages, in Unique Program
Facilitated by a Wisconsin Rotary Club


By MICHAEL McCULLOH


 From left: Bulgarians Sylvia Marinova, Orphan Train Intermediary/Translator from American University in Blagoevgrad; Stanislav Shikov, Orphanage Director for Katya Vancheva Orphanage in Shiroka Luka; and Dimitar Buchov, an orphanage director from Yakoruda.

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Please click on any photograph below to view a larger image.
> The name of Mooseheart Child City & School is already known throughout the childcare community in the United States, as an innovative children’s campus with cutting-edge training for professional caregivers. But now, the Mooseheart Model of Care is starting to spread across the globe.

For the past four years, visitors from orphanages in Bulgaria have been traveling to Mooseheart to learn about the Mooseheart Model of Care, and to take the knowledge back with them in a Rotary Club service project known as the “Orphan Train”--the name borrowed from church-based associations that would collect homeless children from impoverished urban slums in railroad runs to rural areas throughout the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Orphan Train project chairman Edward Fink said the program began in 1997, when he was about to become president of a Madison, WI-based Rotary Club, and members were doing some brainstorming about starting a new project. One of their members knew about the difficulties orphanages were having in Bulgaria, so four Rotarians from the Madison West Towne-Middleton club eventually ended up traveling to that southeast-European nation to visit childcare facilities.

“We decided that we couldn’t help them all, and took on the role of matchmakers--matching service clubs, schools and other groups to orphanages around the world,” Fink said.

Fink first learned about Mooseheart at a Rotary district meeting in Wisconsin. The featured speaker--Melinda Reason from the Class of 1963--was a successful and dynamic business owner who talked about being raised at Mooseheart after being abandoned by her mother and the death of her father.

“This lady was effusive in her praise of Mooseheart and what it had done for her,” Fink said. “She attributed her success in life to Mooseheart.”

Fink decided to go see for himself what Mooseheart was all about, taking along one of the Orphan Train visitors from Bulgaria.

“We were both awed by the place, and visited with Mooseheart officials about partnering with them in our efforts,” Fink said. “It was then that the friendship was born.”

Since that time, the educational component has taken shape, thanks to the partnership with Mooseheart, he added.

“Mooseheart has had a profound effort on the Orphan Train Project,” Fink said. “Orphanage directors in Guatemala, Peru, Bulgaria and Romania have been introduced to the positive methods of childcare fostered by Mooseheart,” Fink said. “Everyone who has participated in the program has been extremely grateful for the opportunity. We have heard reports that the ‘Point system,’ the family concept and other Mooseheart approaches are being utilized by those who have been trained by Mooseheart personnel over the years.”


Members of the Orphan Train Committee from the Rotary Club of Madison West Towne-Middleton (WI). Seated on the couch from left are Susan Titus, Adam Sauter, Mary Van Hout, Rachelle Richardson and Jeannine Desautels. In back from left are Mary Feldt, Ray Holloway, Cora Holloway, Virgie Schulte, Orphan Train Project Chairman Ed Fink and Mooseheart Training Coordinator Frank Kirby.

The first training occurred in July and August, 2001. Former Mooseheart staffers Beth Littrell and Scott Hartman traveled to Bulgaria to conduct training in the country, and since then, orphanage directors from Bulgaria and other nations have trained at Mooseheart every year, Fink said.

This year’s Orphan Train visitors were Stanislav Shikov, Dimitar Buchov and Sylvia Marinova, all from Bulgaria. Shikov is the director of the Katya Vancheva Orphanage in Shiroka Luka, which houses 66 children. Buchov is director of an orphanage at Yakoruda and oversees the care of 61 children. Marinova has been an Orphan Train intermediary for several years and works for the American University at Blagoevgrad as the Human Resources Manager for expatriate employees. Marinova served as translator for the group.

This summer, from July 10-22, these visitors were on the Mooseheart campus, where they were fully immersed into the culture of the Child City.

The team of visitors trained with several Family Teachers (as Mooseheart caregivers are called) for two weeks and took classes taught by Mooseheart Training Coordinator Frank Kirby.


Mooseheart Training Coordinator Frank Kirby instructs the guests on the Mooseheart Model of Care system, which emphasizes points for good behavior.

They were trained in the Mooseheart Model of Care, which incorporates concepts such as effective praise, social-skills teaching and the Mooseheart “point system.” The evening meals were held at various campus homes, giving the visitors and residents a chance to interact in an informal way.

While on campus, Dimitar, Stanislav and Sylvia also enjoyed the opportunity to visit downtown Chicago and view a professional soccer match, thanks to the kindness of the Mooseheart staff members who volunteered their free time.

Buchov said the trip to Mooseheart offered a different perspective from the style of instruction used at his orphanage, and while he was quite impressed, admitted he would definitely use what he had learned at Mooseheart--but adapted to his environment.

Shikov said they really enjoyed visiting the family homes and seeing family meetings take place, witnessing conflicts resolved in a healthy manner and seeing firsthand the opportunities the students had in sports, music and the arts.

Kirby has taught Bulgarian orphanage directors twice now, and sees many positive aspects to their visits.

“I have heard from many Family Teachers who told me how excited they were to have them visit and allow the kids to learn about another culture firsthand,” he said.“It’s an honor and a privilege to train them in our Mooseheart Model of Care, knowing it is being implemented on the other side of the world.”

Kirby added that their visit helps him to remember how many relative luxuries there are at Mooseheart (such as an abundance of paper, TVs, sports activities, etc.) compared to some parts of the world--but that all caregivers share a common passion: caring for children in need.

Shikov agrees that the partnership and love for children in need transcends any cultural boundaries.

“We are very grateful for the hospitality this wonderful organization has shown us, and will take back with us many great ideas,” Shikov said. “I am very happy we had this opportunity and are able to make this connection.”
Bulgarian visitors Sylvia Marinova, Stanislov Shikov and Dimitar Buchov were overwhelmed by the love shown to them by the children and staff at Mooseheart, including the girls from the Virginia home (pictured) and the North Carolina home.


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