One can barely find a Bulgarian who has remained indifferent to the Bulgarian Christmas charity campaign by not donating at least EUR 0.5 via SMS or a phone call. The Bulgarian Christmas is a charity initiative that has been going on for 15 years now under the auspices of the country’s president. Its main goal is fundraising for the treatment of sick Bulgarian children and for the purchase of specialized appliance for the most visited pediatric hospitals. Traditionally the start of this year’s charity campaign was proclaimed on December 1^st by head of state Rumen Radev. The campaign’s peak is on December 25^th, Christmas when a charity show is organized. Famous Bulgarian persons from show business, actors, musicians and sportsmen take part in it. The fundraising continues till the final hours of the leaving year and online donations go on in January as well.

President Radev proclaimed the start of the 15^th Bulgarian Christmas for 2017/2018 at the St. Georgi University Hospital in Plovdiv. “I opted for this place, as the hospital is one of the best in the country with history spreading back to over a century,” the president said in his speech. By underlining that care has been taken of thousands of Bulgarian children in this hospital, Radev voiced to the public his certainty that the donation appeal would be even stronger on the spot. The head of state also used the occasion to thank the doctors and the nurses for the saving of thousands of children’s lives.

Nearly EUR 900,000 of Bulgarian Christmas donations have been used in 2017 for the purchase of medical equipment for diagnostics and treatment across 30 hospitals. Another EUR 350,000 have been used for the support of 474 children with serious chronic diseases. The new diagnostic methods allow the early discovery of medical problems, which is a prerequisite for the reduction of chronic pain and the eventual disabilities that might occur over a lifetime.

The money donated is allocated by leading pediatric organizations. One of the kids who have received the support of the Bulgarian Christmas campaign is Alexandra, 5. “She runs, plays, laughs with her coevals, but her height of only 93 cm causes a lot of inconvenience,” mother Nelly says. The family has been smiling again since recently, as the missing hormone in the child’s body has been purchased with the funding donated. Now the girl has grown up with 5 cm in three months, which has brought hope back to their life.

Editor: Gergana Mancheva

English version: Zhivko Stanchev