Niki Yanakiev & me

My, Jacqueline, Angie and Me

Me, Don and Anastasia

Me and Dr. Bob (a.k.a. “The Crazy Doctor” ;) )

A major part of the Leo volunteers team

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Give the gift of sight: Photo Memories

At the end, it’s the figures, the emotions and the experience that is left to the people that both were examined during this clinic or the people that actually worked or volunteered the project. I was one of the later and frankly speaking I really enjoyed it. It was a hard week – many, many people came. Some 21,000 people went through the clinic and had check ups, consultation with the doctors and receiving prescription glasses for free. There were so many old people that came to get their eyes examined and most of them got glasses. These people were really thankful for the help they received.

Projects like this are of a great value. Moreover, they are in the spirit of Lionism – to serve the community. This is why, I really enjoyed that week. It was a very unique experience – it was a combination of hard work, a lot of hours spent on foot, translating to people, and it was very, very awarding. I say awarding because I know that in some I was part of a project that helped many people.

To get you some impression from the project, here are some photos:

The beginning – the line forming at 6.30 a.m. on one of the days.

A couple of hours later – the same line.

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Give the gift of sight: After the project

The “Give the gift of sight” project is an international project, ran by the Lions Clubs International and the Luxottica Group, its aim is to provide free vision care and eyewear to underprivileged individuals in around the world. Its Bulgaria mission takes place in Plovdiv and in Sofia. Last week, during the mission in Plovdiv some 14,000 individuals attended the clinic and received pairs of new glasses.

This week the mission is in Sofia. Yesterday was the training and orientation for the volunteers, today was day one. Almost 5000 (!!) people passed through the clinic today. Here are some photos:

Here is how it all started in Sofia on Sunday morning – unloading the boxes with the eye glasses and the heavy equipment.

This is one of the halls in which the patient examinations take place.

Dr. Jacqueline & Dr. My are examining a child.

The stickers on my car after the long day.

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Give the gift of sight

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Smolyan trip: Phase 01

A group photo after we played football with the kids.

Some quality time spent with the kids, painting Baba Marta cards.

Fun time with balloons!

Group photo at our departure, holding proudly the cards that the kids gave to us.

Me driving back from Doganovo.

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Sofia Leos Visit the Orphanage in Doganovo

It was unique because of the people that were there – people from all kind of ages (from kids to grannies), from all kind of vocations – in a word: normal people.

Normal people that showed that without any big bang PR campaigns, funds from European projects or some other “one-time-campaign initiatives”, something for our town can be achieved. And this something is for us – the inhabitants of this town, so that we have more trees.

Why trees? Well trees are good for a town, like Sofia for zillion and one reasons. Just to name a few, these are: get the CO2 out of the urban atmosphere and return back the need O2 for people to breathe; filter and purify the air and the soils; make the urban smoke more bearable and last, but not least – make the urban landscape a tiny bit more comfortable for living.

Well, enough with the words. Here is a picture of me, struggling with the shovel and the sticky mud (man, that mud was really sticky and made the tree planting quite a physical job!). It was beneficial, and fun experience.

More photos from today – over here

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Gorichka

At the conference, I introduced the Leo movement worldwide and in Bulgaria to the attendees of the conference, as well presented the past and forthcoming activities of the Sofia Leo Club.

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Lions National Conference in Veliko Tarnovo

In his remarks, Mr. Clement F. Kusiak addressed the audience and expressed his point of view that the younger generation, the Leo movement, is the one to make the world a better place.

The chartering of the Veliko Tarnovo Tzarevetz Leo Club was held at a ceremony at the same time of the event. The new Leo club is an alpha Leo. I spoke after the chatering ceremony and congratulated the new club. Also, in my speech I underlined my belief that such organizations such as the Leo will be working for a better Bulgaria.

I also presented the special gifts, folder for collecting the minutes of meetings, as well as a set of symbolic sticks, representing the unity of the Leos, which the Sofia Leo Club presented to Veliko Tarnovo Tzarevetz Leo Club.

At the end of the event, our Leo Club presented a special photo collage, representing Mr. Kusiak at a photo, during the start of the Lions wood in the South Park, and a couple of photos of us, the Sofia Leo Club, while planting three trees during our March 24 tree planting initiative.

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Clement Kusiak’s visit to Bulgaria

The day started with a tree-planting ceremony at the Sofia South Park. We planted three linden trees.

Photo: I’m tying the Sofia Leo Club ribbon on the first planted tree. Source: bulphoto.com

Photo: All the members of the Sofia Leo Club, together with the Lions Zone Chairman Kosta Govedarov and Lions District 130 PR Committee Chair Milena Hlebarova. Source: bulphoto.com

This was in the morning. The real and important ceremony was in the evening. The venue of the event was the Matti’D Hall at the National Palace of Culture. Some 140 people came to the event, including the VIP guest of the event, the Vice-President of the Republic of Bulgaria, Mr. Angel Marin.

Photo: Ms. Svetla Toshkova, Head of Vice-President’s Cabinet, Mr. Angel Marin, Vice-President of the Republic of Bulgaria and I. Source: bulphoto.com


Photo: I’m receiving my official Leo certificate and pin from Kiriakos Veresies, Lions Club International Coordinator for the Balkans. Source: bulphoto.com

Photo: The Sofia Leo Club members, chartered. Source: bulphoto.com

The ceremony itself was quite interesting. It might be not very humble to say so, but this was largely thanks to the couple of ideas I came with. One of them was that the chartering ceremony started with a bagpipe suite, whose purpose was to emphasize the Bulgarian character of the Leo club. Also, after we were chartered, in my official remarks to the audience, I pointed out the old proto-Bulgarian legend for khan Kubrat and his sons, and together with the Leo members illustrated this with a ritual handing of sticks and gathering them together, to underline the significance of the unity of our club members’ philosophy to serve the society.

After the official part, the fun part of the event started. This was the charity raffle in the name of the school for blind children “Loius Braille”. Then the party was on.

These are quick personal impressions of mine. More photos and news about the event can be found here, here and here.

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Sofia Leo Club Chartering

The official website of the Sofia Leo Club was launched yesterday at www.leosofia.org. I’m quite happy with what turned out as a result of a couple of days work from my part. Well, enough with talking – go see yourself!

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Sofia Leo Club