What can induce two actors to give up theatre so as to help children at risk? Animarie Dimitrova and Zlatko Zlatkov are managers of the Rusalya association. Here is their story:

For years the two ran a private theatre and parallel with their acting performed a noble mission, visiting children at social homes and staging charity performances. Meeting children inspired them, so they decided to dedicate more time to them and help them in the difficult lives they lead. At the same time they started work on projects aimed at assisting their social integration, though they did not give up their acting careers. What happened then? Animarie Dimitrova:

“Spinning and reeling at the same time is no easy thing, so after giving the matter some thought we decided it was more worthwhile for Zlatko and myself to dedicate out lives to this cause. We closed up the theatre, put away the sets, the costumes and started our work with the children. We now have eight projects we have implemented in 17 specialized institutions with more than 1,300 children aged 3 to 18 from all over Bulgaria. We came to the conclusion that working on projects is useful, but only to a certain degree – projects come to an end and the children are left high and dry, and that even does harm. So, we made up our minds to start something with a longer horizon that would change the children’s lives.”

And so, the two founded an arts school. Training experts in the field and building their strategy took three years. They also started raising funds. Support first came from the Velux foundation, Denmark – the money that came from them gave the project a very good start. The two project leaders bought 2.6 hectares of land in Rusalya village near Veliko Turnovo for building the school. They renovated the old school there, adapting it for use as a training centre and built houses to accommodate 30 children and 10 tutors.

Animarie Dimitrova is head of two NGOs and on 15 September 2014, they opened the Dimitar Ekimov school for arts and crafts for socially disadvantaged children that is unique to Bulgaria. The facility is for children from a preschool age to the third grade.

“The school is for children who stand absolutely no chance of an equal start in life, of evolving unless they get help, otherwise they will be leading difficult lives. They are very talented children with a very grim background and a great many social deficits. Many of them come from social homes or foster families and have been given back and taken away from their parents time and again. Whether done intentionally or unintentionally, this is very traumatic for them. They come to us in sheer terror of entering one more institution when we bring them to the boarding school. But after months of hard work, they come to the realization that this is a wonderful place. We have 12 people in place – tutors, teachers who never stop giving. They are young people, many have graduated in London and Paris and then started their careers here, at our school.”

The school’s patron – Dimitar Ekimov – is a patriot born in Gabrovo in 1903. He was a factory owner and built some of the first boarding houses for his workers, offering their families excellent conditions. Ekimov was elected secretary of the Industrial Societies in Bulgaria and his efforts in that sphere gave a substantial boost to Bulgaria’s economy at the turn of the 20th century. He was a generous benefactor and a patron of the arts and culture. So far, the story sounds more like a fairytale, whether there will be a happy ending is up to us all. Raising and educating 18 children at the school is entirely free of charge. But this noble cause is currently in urgent need of funding because financing is being delayed. The money comes mostly from abroad. The ambitious managers now face the dilemma of mortgaging their own home to save the school.

“That is an important cause for Bulgaria,” says Animarie Dimitrova. “It is a cause that means the survival of the nation, of the country. We have been endeavouring to mould 21st century individuals who are clever and good. Obviously we need more people to support this cause. That is why I would like to address all people who realize that children are a gift from God, that they are here, on this Earth to live their lives to the fullest; anyone who wants to make the world a better place to live in can help any way they choose to,” says in conclusion Animarie Dimitrova.

English version: Milena Daynova