MAR is an independent, non-governmental and non-profit organization dedicated to the building of a civil society through the initiatives of youth.
“Volunteers donate their voluntary work for a useful project, gain a better understanding of different cultures, views and lifestyles, and foster a tolerant attitude,” Daniela Dimitrova said upon returning from a workcamp in Brussels last month.
Established in 1992, MAR (Bulgarian Youth Alliance for Development) was the first to organize international youth workcamps in Bulgaria and welcomes each year hundreds of volunteers from all over the world. The organization is also involved in many different youth projects especially those related to building democracy in the Balkans, particularly in Bulgaria. At present in Bulgaria, MAR is the leading organization in the field of international youth cooperation and collaborates with more than 170 non-governmental structures and organizations worldwide.
There is a wide variety of different projects for youths to attend and be part of. “Volunteers are free to choose a workcamp according to their interests, skills and area in which they wish to contribute,” said Anelia Borisova, coordinator of projects for MAR Bulgaria. The projects mainly include social work, work with children, renovation, restoration, construction, archaeology, environmental and nature protection, ecology, gardening and forestry.
According to Borisova, the highest interest in projects completed in Bulgaria until recently were from the social sphere. The most volunteers in the Bulgarian projects were from Japan, Great Britain, Spain, Denmark and France. “All of the attending volunteers express a lively interest in the orphanages in the country. They consider the place exotic and different,” said Borisova.
Her involvement as a coordinator with MAR for six years improved the mutual exchange of positive emotions between volunteers and orphans.
“Strengthening of international contacts and understanding between young people from all over the world is the core goal for the volunteers,” said Borisova. She added that facilitation of the individual growth of the volunteers through the acquisition of work, life and learning skills is another target for MAR. The whole range of activities are coordinated by the Committee for International Voluntary Service (part of UNESCO) and the National Chamber of the Bulgarian National Youth Council.
Approximately 300 young volunteers have signed up to take part in the three groups of activities in the country for this year, according to Borisova. They are focused on environmental protection, social actions, restoration, conservation work and archaeological excavations.
The Social Home Rada Kirkovich is the oldest orphanage in Bulgaria, established 80 years ago in Plovdiv and this year it hosted a MAR program for the second time. It provides housing and care for about 75 children from the age of five to 15 years. Most of them are orphans, and some have socially disadvantaged or sick parents. The program included social activities for the residents of the orphanage, such as games, sports or workshops. The international group that attended the project there carried out some renovation and cleaning works in a small building attached to the main boarding house where the children have different workshops and art programs.
“What surprised us most after the end of the project was the zealous desire of the children to learn languages in order to understand each other in the coming year. They changed a lot according to the supervisors in the orphanage,” Borisova said.
Daniela Dimitrova, 24, explained that her participation in the project in Brussels with handicapped people made her more aware about her self and her global involvement with different cultures. “There was not any aggression or suppression of feelings to detect amongst all these deprived people unlike my contact with them in Bulgaria,” she said. She added that MAR to her is simply an addiction and that she fell in love with it the first time she had contact with it.
Another workcamp that took place in the country this summer was in Devin (south Bulgaria). The Devin district covers the territory of the highest central parts of the picturesque sub-region of the West Rhodope Mountains. The camp was organized by MAR as a response to a youth initiative to work together for a more beautiful and cleaner town. The project included the renovation of schools, kindergartens and the sports base in the town, as well as intercultural exchange with the local youngsters who participated in the workcamp along with the international group of volunteers. All the volunteers spent some time working in the mountain, making tourist markings along an eco-track.
A different workcamp was based at the Gomotartzi social home for children with learning disabilities. It is situated on the bank of the Danube, in the village of Gomotartzi with the nearest town being Vidin. The social home provides support for 79 children, with multiple disabilities, ranging from the age of three to 16. In addition there are three adults, who help and work around the home. All the children and young adults are residents in the home, and have very little community interaction and no family contact. The majority of the children in the home were bed ridden, but with a little stimulation, could become more active and participatory. The more active children were involved in educational activities, supervised by the teacher. There were also some encouraging activities with the more disabled children within a 10-day period.
“The project I attended in Brussels was a good example of how people relax while working and enjoy it,” Dimitrova said.
During the time of the workcamp in Bansko, holiday and work were strongly united. The town hosted the International Summer Jazz Festival where Bulgarian and foreign musicians performed. The Municipality of Bansko also undertook environmental and nature-protecting activities in this mountainous resort, visited by many tourists, skiers and hikers both during the winter and the summer. The volunteer group assisted in the preparation and running of the festival. The work included arranging the concert area, setting up stages, cleaning and other small works. Volunteers did some environmental work on the ski-runs.
The summer jazz festival in Bansko is becoming a tradition in which popular performers from Bulgaria and abroad take part. Last month attracted famous Bulgarian and foreign performers, demonstrating their virtuoso art beneath the Pirin skies.
“Volunteers donate their voluntary work for a useful project, gain a better understanding of different cultures, views and lifestyles, and foster a tolerant attitude,” Daniela Dimitrova said upon returning from a workcamp in Brussels last month.
Established in 1992, MAR (Bulgarian Youth Alliance for Development) was the first to organize international youth workcamps in Bulgaria and welcomes each year hundreds of volunteers from all over the world. The organization is also involved in many different youth projects especially those related to building democracy in the Balkans, particularly in Bulgaria. At present in Bulgaria, MAR is the leading organization in the field of international youth cooperation and collaborates with more than 170 non-governmental structures and organizations worldwide.
There is a wide variety of different projects for youths to attend and be part of. “Volunteers are free to choose a workcamp according to their interests, skills and area in which they wish to contribute,” said Anelia Borisova, coordinator of projects for MAR Bulgaria. The projects mainly include social work, work with children, renovation, restoration, construction, archaeology, environmental and nature protection, ecology, gardening and forestry.
According to Borisova, the highest interest in projects completed in Bulgaria until recently were from the social sphere. The most volunteers in the Bulgarian projects were from Japan, Great Britain, Spain, Denmark and France. “All of the attending volunteers express a lively interest in the orphanages in the country. They consider the place exotic and different,” said Borisova.
Her involvement as a coordinator with MAR for six years improved the mutual exchange of positive emotions between volunteers and orphans.
“Strengthening of international contacts and understanding between young people from all over the world is the core goal for the volunteers,” said Borisova. She added that facilitation of the individual growth of the volunteers through the acquisition of work, life and learning skills is another target for MAR. The whole range of activities are coordinated by the Committee for International Voluntary Service (part of UNESCO) and the National Chamber of the Bulgarian National Youth Council.
Approximately 300 young volunteers have signed up to take part in the three groups of activities in the country for this year, according to Borisova. They are focused on environmental protection, social actions, restoration, conservation work and archaeological excavations.
The Social Home Rada Kirkovich is the oldest orphanage in Bulgaria, established 80 years ago in Plovdiv and this year it hosted a MAR program for the second time. It provides housing and care for about 75 children from the age of five to 15 years. Most of them are orphans, and some have socially disadvantaged or sick parents. The program included social activities for the residents of the orphanage, such as games, sports or workshops. The international group that attended the project there carried out some renovation and cleaning works in a small building attached to the main boarding house where the children have different workshops and art programs.
“What surprised us most after the end of the project was the zealous desire of the children to learn languages in order to understand each other in the coming year. They changed a lot according to the supervisors in the orphanage,” Borisova said.
Daniela Dimitrova, 24, explained that her participation in the project in Brussels with handicapped people made her more aware about her self and her global involvement with different cultures. “There was not any aggression or suppression of feelings to detect amongst all these deprived people unlike my contact with them in Bulgaria,” she said. She added that MAR to her is simply an addiction and that she fell in love with it the first time she had contact with it.
Another workcamp that took place in the country this summer was in Devin (south Bulgaria). The Devin district covers the territory of the highest central parts of the picturesque sub-region of the West Rhodope Mountains. The camp was organized by MAR as a response to a youth initiative to work together for a more beautiful and cleaner town. The project included the renovation of schools, kindergartens and the sports base in the town, as well as intercultural exchange with the local youngsters who participated in the workcamp along with the international group of volunteers. All the volunteers spent some time working in the mountain, making tourist markings along an eco-track.
A different workcamp was based at the Gomotartzi social home for children with learning disabilities. It is situated on the bank of the Danube, in the village of Gomotartzi with the nearest town being Vidin. The social home provides support for 79 children, with multiple disabilities, ranging from the age of three to 16. In addition there are three adults, who help and work around the home. All the children and young adults are residents in the home, and have very little community interaction and no family contact. The majority of the children in the home were bed ridden, but with a little stimulation, could become more active and participatory. The more active children were involved in educational activities, supervised by the teacher. There were also some encouraging activities with the more disabled children within a 10-day period.
“The project I attended in Brussels was a good example of how people relax while working and enjoy it,” Dimitrova said.
During the time of the workcamp in Bansko, holiday and work were strongly united. The town hosted the International Summer Jazz Festival where Bulgarian and foreign musicians performed. The Municipality of Bansko also undertook environmental and nature-protecting activities in this mountainous resort, visited by many tourists, skiers and hikers both during the winter and the summer. The volunteer group assisted in the preparation and running of the festival. The work included arranging the concert area, setting up stages, cleaning and other small works. Volunteers did some environmental work on the ski-runs.
The summer jazz festival in Bansko is becoming a tradition in which popular performers from Bulgaria and abroad take part. Last month attracted famous Bulgarian and foreign performers, demonstrating their virtuoso art beneath the Pirin skies.
