About 200 children from the Young Patriots clubs across Bulgaria gathered for their first meeting at the National Museum of History on the occasion of the 142^nd anniversary of the death of Vassil Levski – this country’s most honored hero, ideologist and organizer of the national revolution during the Ottoman rule. The Apostle of Freedom, as we call him, is an example for morality and patriotism. There are currently about 60 clubs of that kind with over 1,200 youngsters from the 4 ^th to the 10^th-graders being their members. Those stand for Levski’s patriotism. They study his life, his relations with revolutionaries like Hristo Botev, Liuben Karavelov etc. The children write essays, poems and stories on the subject. In their everyday life they organize different activities, helping families with many children, they take care of elderly people and participate in other charity events. The head of the club in Panagyurishte Vania Todeva and one of the kids give us more details on the matter:

“We meet at least once per week for at least two hours. Being established in December, our first initiative was related to the creation of Christmas cards that we gifted to kids from the city center of disabled children and to different institutions in the town. We also prepared the town’s celebration on the occasion of the 142^nd anniversary of Levski’s hanging.”

“Last year we established the Young Patriots club at the United Children’s Complex in the town of Panagyurishte. I do like the club, as it gives knowledge to children outside the textbooks. We are 13 teenagers. We all like the fact that we can present different scenes, reminding to the people around they are Bulgarians.”

The All-Bulgarian Vassil Levski Committee, chaired by businessman Vassil Vassilev is the initiator of the event at the National Museum of History. According to him, the development of this country lies in the preservation of traditions and culture of the Bulgarian people. That is also the main goal of the Young Patriots communities. The kids involved improve their skills, as far as literature, sports and social activities are concerned. Thus they confirm their national identity in a century, when what’s modern – Internet and online communications, replace human virtues, he is convinced. More from Vassil Vassilev:

“Levski is a world-class hero. He is among the greatest freedom and justice fighters. Levski is a real phenomenon and we can be proud of his testament and his deeds, which will help us to get our country out of this difficult situation it is in. We should help it stand up on its feet and turn it into a country attractive to young emigrants abroad.”

The clubs are expected to exceed 200 and there will be ones in foreign countries as well, Vassil Vassilev points out.

English version: Zhivko Stanchev