This project aims to show disadvantaged people and lonely elderly people who live in villages with a small population in Bulgaria and / or are difficult to reach, that they are not forgotten. The initiative is of the Interact Club Sofia-Balkan Sofia Mathematical High School and is a sustainable project that has been implemented for seven years.

The first stage of the project is a donation campaign of the type “Buy and donate”. Through it, club members connect with a large chain of grocery stores (different over the years), where they can go to collect enough donations in the form of food and other essentials – basic detergents and detergents.

The second part is more emotional, because then young people go to donate products in these remote, isolated and hard-to-reach places. In doing so, they talk to people, see first-hand their living conditions, touch the typical Bulgarian hospitality and diversify their daily lives. This project leaves an imprint on the participants, because in this way the interactors enrich their perception of the world around them, falling into another, non-traditional environment, communicate and warm the hearts of elderly and lonely people from depopulated villages.

In 2020 Rotary Club Sofia-Balkan and Interact Club Sofia-Balkan at SMG again managed to realize their project! Even in the face of a global pandemic, the Rotary spirit has manifested itself in full force and succeeded, despite adverse circumstances. In partnership with Lidl Bulgaria, the campaign took place, as the donor Lidl Bulgaria kindly provided products worth BGN 2,100 to be donated in the second part of the project to people who need them. In this way, the risks of gathering more people in one place, which is inevitable for “Buy and Donate” actions, were avoided, and the restrictions were observed, as well as all safety measures.

The transport, storage and delivery of food products was also taken over free of charge by a leading logistics company in Bulgaria, whose participation was also ensured thanks to the Rotarians of the club!

Thank you to everyone involved for their wide-open Rotary hearts, and to you for remembering those who should not be forgotten!