Imagine you have never seen the sea – you have never smelled the salt-tang or felt the coastal breeze on your face.

Young adults from the Ruse small group homes “Love” and “ Hope” have just returned to the city having spent a few days at the seaside in the village of Tyulenevo. Despite being in their late teens or early twenties, it was a new experience. They have significant special needs and have spent their childhoods in institutional care and within a medicalized regime.

The chalet in Tyulenevo lies close to Shabla’s fishing community and historic lighthouse. It provides easy access to unspoiled nature reserves. It is 10 minutes from a beach much loved by families with children because of the quality of the sand , the rock pools and the shallow inlet of the sea.

Naturally, the youngsters were apprehensive in an unfamiliar environment but, without exception, they responded to gentle encouragement to wiggle their toes in the sand and enter the water. Their fear of experiences that bring out the child in us all gradually abated.

 If the sea could speak……..