Optimism for Bulgaria

The seven mothers making up Za Dobroto Foundation are united in their commitment to improving the physical environment in children’s hospitals and overhauling pediatric care in Bulgaria. They named their hospital renewal project Firefly.

Checkpoint Cardio’s innovative medical solution has averted hundreds of preventable deaths and thwarted disease progression in thousands of patients on four continents.

Through the Village Doctor program, a team of doctors, medical students, and residents spend a weekend in a medically underserved location conducting free health checkups.

By showcasing the achievements of the Balkans’ earliest societies, the First Kings of Europe exhibition emphasizes the region’s shared heritage.

Conventionally, architects situate their work within three-dimensional space. Architectural studio Atelier 3, however, works beyond convention.

Dryanovo is better known for its architecture, caves, and prehistoric finds, but the town’s most valuable resource is its people: quirky, tough, capable, hardworking.

An ecologist, painter, and co-founder of the Alos Center, a platform for informal education through art, Rositza has been making subjects like history accessible to children and adults for more than twenty years.

Dimitar Vasilev, an ethnographer with the National History Museum, thought of a fun way to help visitors appreciate the importance of Paisius’s work. He and his museum colleagues launched a group transcribing of the monk’s Slav Bulgarian History as part of the exhibition experience.

Featuring photos, collages, newspaper clippings, and personal memories, the exhibition isn’t meant to be sad. Positive change is also part of the story: the vicinity of some of the sunken villages has become a favorite place for photographers and history buffs; the migrations have inspired literary works; and former neighbors still keep up the community spirit through annual reunions.