About Us

“Restore” is a juridical person, registered as social service’s supplier. Behind that name stands a Protestant Organization namely ACRPJHS “Apostolic Center “Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy Spirit”. At the root of the “Restore” stands: upbringing in diligence, respect and esteem toward people, supporting weak, developing a high moral values, as they perform a rich charitable activity aimed to vulnerable  groups of population.

Continuing 12 years already a twice a week ACRPJHS is accomplishing successful activity with prisoners at Burgas jail. A commitment of the team is consist in reading lectures on interpersonal relations establishing, values, moral, ethics, society manners, deportment at family and positive attitude to life. The scope is at about over 100 prisoners. A centre for work with prisoners “Restore” is appropriate opportunity for continuation the work with the prisoners after leaving the jail too.

There is great participation of volunteers from the ACRPJHS, who used to work as mentors as in the jail so in the part of social workers out of the jail. They cooperate to the centre by finances, moral support, advising, helping in severed families, creating a suitable milieu, where people may feel accepted and respected as personalities and these social workers render in wanting jobs. Some of them are employers at construction sphere and business activity and give a job after acquisition of qualification according to the project course.

Biblical Perspective

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee ? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee ? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Mat. 25:34-40

A description of the project

Innovative approach for prevention and surmounting of social elimination of risky groups

What does include:

1. A moral and spiritual support for adaptation and personal growth

2. Having consultation and co-operation for solving social problems

3. Vocational guidance and acquisition on vocational qualification

4. Providing place for living  and all day feeding

5. Medical support and help

A description of purposive group:

Individuals served a term of imprisonment: Predominantly these are people with low level of education and literacy; with no vocational qualification or such that is no competitive on labor-market; after prolonged isolation, with broken family relation and broken social environment; not knowing the system of institutions and services which might be in help, have lost social habits and discipline, often with missing or incomplete personal documents as: health card, document for completed education, work-book

Statistics:

-the biggest is the contingent of imprisoned between age 19 to 30

-over 34% are illiterate or with primary school, but 28% are with elementary school

-a total number of imprisoned townspeople is 36 137, putted up in 13 jails over whole country

-a percentage of recidivism or crime’s relapse goes back 70%

-more than 50% of prisoners, coming out of prison, have no acquired vocational qualification

-each of every imprisoned is to have under two squire meters floorage

-under 30% of initially enrolled prisoners in vocational training succeed to finish the course

-a health centers in jails do not meet the requirements according Legislation concerning management of medical institutions.

-each of every social worker in jail is to have on the average 600 people

-25% of imprisoned do not carry out visits with their relatives.

-under more than 10 years sentence, 80% of them have broken off all manner of relationships and contacts with their relatives.

A riskiest period for law-breakers is in the first three to six months after their release. According to done research, if imprisoned land a job immediately after leaving the prison, a danger of second crime decrease up to eight times. Just upon that period efforts and initiatives will be focused on, provided by “Centre for Work with Ex-Imprisoned” CWEI “Restor’

Partners:

The Prison in Burgas:

“The executive body of the jail is greatly favorable to the team, because moral-educative activity they do, take effect and in practice leads to change for the better in most imprisoned. We entirely support the idea of CWEI “Restor’. The leadership of the jail undertakes to assist and co-operate them and do everything within our powers and by virtue of the Law for achieving project’s aims”. Dejan Ilchev Kostov( Head of Prison in Burgas)

The Business Centre at Burgas

Since its formation, the Business Centre at Burgas performs its activities connected with increasing adaptation and integration in the community of risky groups ( romany, women, prisoners, ex-prisoners, youths). Our basic activities are connected with qualification and motivation training. The purpose is giving  producers, contractors and those who wish to start their own business a professional business consultations and advices in production field, markets, finances, business planning, taxes, legal order, as well as recommendations on establishment and management own enterprise, the selection and management of the  staff

The Idea

The road this ministry has walked through the years has been varied and sometimes surprising to us. It is a fact though, that we are working with these people regularly on a weekly basis (sometimes up to 4 times a week) for 11 years now. We are there with them and believe that we have been an instrument in God’s hand for their change and their coming nearer to the Lord.

I have been blessed to have a team, which took a great part of the responsibility and tasks that fell on me initially, and so I now have the opportunity to be useful in the ministry, in a more general master plan.

In 1999 I had a meeting with a former inmate, who had come out of prison for his consecutive time. This meeting was obviously prompted by God’s will, because it put a picture in me.

This man (as 98% of all prisoners in Bulgaria), after serving his sentence, had come out, and within a few months, was back in prison again.

Without the proper surroundings, and with outdated and understated professional abilities, with work habits forgotten, with an archaic social adaptation, with no means at all, and in most cases with a shattered family and ashamed of him relatives, a person coming out of prison is doomed to fight battles unknown to most of us. 98% of these people go back to their “safe environment "

The man I met, after his third release from prison, had come across to a different environment. Christians, who worked with him in prison, established a Center for Resocialization. After his 4th release from prison, this man shared how he thought: "If I go back to my old environment, I will be back in jail soon. I want something to change in my life." This man decided to go to the Center for Resocialization.

The Center represented a place where Christians helped a person develop spiritual habits, adapt to the current state of society, develop skills for life. Now some transformed former prisoners work in that center too.  

This man had developed himself and had became a preacher, actively helping for the founding and establishing of new churches!

When I heard this, I wanted the same thing in Bulgaria. My prayer to God just burst out: "Send me." For ten years this desire has not subsided.

We are “on this field” and are tasting the bitter fruit of unfinished work with people leaving prison. We see how some of them have the real chance and potential for a change, but we are unable to be any real help to them, not only with preaching ... their pain is really great. If I could, over the past 11 years, work with those with whom I worked in prison, when they got out, even if I could lead only ten people a year at the feet of Jesus, now we would have a Davidic army of 100 men. The relationship between a man in prison and those of us who visit him, is very strong. We become his brother, his father and his friend. Most of these people don’t have anybody else to lean on, who would believe in them for their change and restitution! This is kairos moment, that is indescribable.

During the last year I decided to do whatever is possible. I asked one of the people in my team to take responsibility and start looking for all possible loopholes in order to realize such a center. The church has been paying a salary to that person to take from her time and devote it to just that. I can not describe how much communication we have gone through, with all kinds of institutions on a national and international level. After 9 months, all we had done seemed pointless. The result was that we became aware of the impossibility of making this happen.

Personally I am very excited. I see that as an opportunity.

Apostle Hristo Kanev

Contacts and support

Post address: Burgas 8001, P.O. Box 621

Office: Burgas, 10 Hadji Dimitar str.

Tel: 0035956 810 865

e-mail: acpmrsd@gmail.com

web: www.rightpeacejoy.org

Bank account for donations:

Apostolic center "PMRSD" 

UNICREDIT BULBANK

IBAN: BG96UNCR96601018606816

BIC: UNCRBGSF

Reason: Restore