The Bulgarian Red Cross Volunteer Disaster Response Teams held in the last days of September its traditional national exercise near the coastal city of Burgas. Over 160 volunteers from all parts of Bulgaria, including people with different professions and interests, took part in it. Unfortunately, Bulgaria has not yet adopted a volunteering act and the enthusiasts who spent a large portion of their spare time in the name of humanity and human life used again some of their annual leave. Two people told Radio Bulgaria how they became volunteers. One of them lives in northwestern Bulgaria and the other one is from the northeast part of the country.

Iliana Borisova believes that trainings such as the one in Kraimorie are beneficial to her:

“I work as psychologist in a hospital in Montana. In 2007 representatives of the Bulgarian Red Cross invited me to join them in a joint training organized by the institutions. The topics was very delicate - human and children trafficking. I was captivated by the idea and as a result I got acquainted with the activity of the Bulgarian Red Cross in details. I joined the BRC team as a volunteer quite spontaneously. I took part in real actions of the Bulgarian Red Cross during earthquakes, floods and other calamities. I provided psychological assistance to people during the big earthquake near Pernik, during the flood in Miziya and the blasts in Gorni Lom. It is difficult to meet people who lost their home or relatives during such calamities. Their lives are ruined in a blink of an eye. This is a very delicate topic. Exercises at a training ground or at the sea coast are very close to a real situation and we play different cases which train and improve our competence and skills to deal in such situations. A group of psychologists who were trained under special methodology and equipped with special tools that cannot be seen anywhere else joined the BRC. This makes our work much easier. Such trainings help us gain rich experience and we are prepared to deal with a real calamity, if such occurs.”

Volunteering takes a lot of time and efforts. How do you cope with this problem?

“I do not have a lot of spare time. I am busy with my family and friends after work and dedicate most of my weekends to them. Being part of the Bulgarian Red Cross team takes some of my spare time. However, I meet with people with different interests there who are at the same time united by the idea to help others. This organization unites people and develops a special type of friendship. Over time you go deeper into the humane idea to be useful to people, especially in difficult moments”, Iliana further says.

Dimitar Ignatov is a member of the Bulgarian Red Cross Volunteer Disaster Response Team with the BRC Municipal Council in Varna. He is thirty and loves the sea.

“I was seventeen when I went under a pool lifeguard course. My father is a sea captain and I sailed a lot with him in the sea. When I was going back home I was always in contact with the Municipal Council of the Bulgarian Red Cross and especially with the people who were in charge with water rescue. When I stopped sailing on ships I took a certificate for sea lifeguard. I started to work at the Kamchia beach south to the city of Varna and was part of a very good team there. Thus, I was captivated even more by the activities of the Bulgarian Red Cross. Later, I was invited to join the Bulgarian Red Cross Volunteer Disaster Response Team in Varna and I have been part of it for three years now. I was impressed by the idea of the BRC to build a well-trained team. I graduated social pedagogy and I have been trying to help my colleagues realize that the team element is more important than the personal one. We have three special units in our team - water unit which consists of swimming coach, a diver and two certified lifeguards. The second unit provides psychological and social assistance and the third one provides first aid. We gradually broaden our knowledge in rope techniques and rescuing in extreme conditions. I find the Kraimorie exercise very useful. Most teams manage to break the barriers among them and work as one. Thus, we get to know each other in a different aspect and unite under a common goal”, Dimitar says.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov