The Trust for Social Achievement Foundation donated 4000 BGN to support refugees from Ukraine, accommodated in the Bulgarian State Railway holiday base in the resort of Panichishte. The donation covers the transport costs of 80 Ukrainian citizens, half of whom are children. Thus, a bus has been hired to travel twice a week in August and September, along the route Panichishte - Dupnitsa - Panichishte, in order not to deprive the refugees of access to healthcare, institutions, pharmacies, shops, etc., as well as to support their integration.
The initiative for the donation was in response to a request from Kostadin Kostadinov, the chairman of the Dupnitsa Municipal Council, in his capacity as a volunteer. The letter, which Mr Kostadinov used to contact the Trust for Social Achievement, points out the initiatives and results of the volunteers from the Dupnitsa in Aid of Refugees group. "The biggest challenge for us was providing bus transport from Panichishte to Dupnitsa. The issue is of particular importance for the refugees, as the mountain resort is isolated, lacks any public transport, there are no nearby settlements, nor shops, pharmacies and medical care. All our activities so far have been supported by donors, but the financial resources have already been exhausted and the donation capacity in a small town like Dupnitsa is limited," Kostadinov said in the letter.
The volunteers express their gratitude to the Trust for Social Achievement Foundation for the support and the gesture, through which the integration of the refugees is supported and their normal stay in Bulgaria is ensured.
The Trust for Social Achievement Foundation has been involved in a number of other initiatives of civil society organizations in Bulgaria to provide assistance to pregnant women and refugees from Ukraine who have arrived in the country since the beginning of the war, as well as food and medicine for Ukrainians in Kiev who have remained in their homeland.