A SPECIAL gift from the mayor of Okehampton should help build relations between a Bulgarian town and a charity based in Okehampton.

Cllr the Rev Mike Davies has given a glass plaque and a letter to Andrew Morgan, founder of the House of Rachel charity, to present to the mayor of Provadia on the charity's next visit to the town.

An advance party of four members of the charity team headed to Krivnya Orphanage on April 14 to prepare for a major renovation project at the orphanage.

On April 29, a team of ten men and women from the Okehampton area will head to the orphanage to undertake some essential maintenance work aimed at improving the lives of children with special educational needs who live there.

The team will concentrate on three main areas — building, decorating and IT.

The building team will fix the roofs, ceilings and floors and upgrade the extremely basic toilet facilities.

The decorating team will paint the grey dormitories to make them bright, vibrant bedroom spaces, and the IT team will install computers to aid the children's education.

During the visit, the mayor of Provadia will inspect the orphanage and see how the work carried out by the charity in 2010 is now bearing fruit.

Andrew said: 'The gift from Cllr Davies will be such a big thing, as a mayor in Bulgaria is effectively like a one-man council.

'They make lots of decisions, and so a gift from the mayor of Okehampton will mean a lot.'

Cllr Davies said: 'It is good to build relationships with other places, and to help the wonderful work of the House of Rachel.

'It is good to endorse what Andrew is doing for orphaned children not that far away from here.

'It is important work. The trips also benefit Okehampton College students, as they often go on trips to Bulgaria to help with the charity's work, so it is good to endorse that work too.'

To find out more about the charity visit http://www.houseofrachel.org">www.houseofrachel.org