(26 Mar) Shoes for the Children of Ruzhintsi – A Small Step with a Big Heart (+GAL)

Posted in News and Events. Written by Admin on March 26th, 2026

Winter can be a difficult season for many families in rural Bulgaria. For the students of Nikola Vaptsarov Secondary School in the village of Ruzhintsi, snowy days sometimes meant something no child should face – having to stay home from school simply because they did not have the right shoes to walk in.

It was school principal Venislav Kostov who first brought this reality to the attention of members of Rotary Club Sofia International. His message was simple and honest: many of the children, from grades 1 to 11, lacked proper winter footwear. What followed was a quiet but meaningful mobilization.

Club members reached out to friends, relatives, and the community, organizing a collection of second-hand shoes in good condition. A private student center in Sofia’s Oborishte district also lent its support, helping gather pairs that families could no longer use but that still had much life left in them. In total, ten pairs were collected – among them a set of well-preserved summer skates that brought an unexpected smile to the effort.

But the response did not stop there. Fellow Rotarian Ivan Dyakov stepped forward and sent 19 pairs of brand-new shoes directly to the school – a generous gesture that more than doubled the impact of the initiative.
In the end, approximately 30 children received footwear, ensuring they can attend school throughout the winter months without interruption. The school expressed its heartfelt gratitude – and, with hope in its voice, also asked whether summer shoes might be possible in the season ahead.

Beyond the shoes themselves, the project carried something more lasting: parents and children at the student center learned about Rotary and its charitable mission, planting the seeds of awareness in a community that may one day give back in its own way.

The project, carried out between January and March 2026 entirely through donations and approximately 30 hours of volunteer work, is not considered finished. Rotary Club Sofia International has committed to continuing the initiative until the need for footwear at the school is fully met.

Because sometimes, Service Above Self begins with making sure a child can simply walk to school.

For more information, please contact us at info@rc-si.org.

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