Varna will Run in Support of the Karin Dom’s New Therapeutic and Educational Complex
More than 2,000 people have already registered for the event, and for each participant who finishes, the organizers donate BGN 5 to purchase equipment for the New Karin Dom.
Borislava Cherkezova, executive director of Karin Dom, talks about the challenges facing our team. But first: What is it like to work for change in people’s hearts, minds and lives?
For each team member and for me, this is a cause and a mission that we believe in and for which we have chosen to work purposefully. Some of us started as volunteers, others as interns, others after applying. Three years ago, I made a purposeful transition from the banking to the civil sector, starting work at Karin Dom, after one of their martenitsa campaigns, which I came across by chance. I chose this direction with the clear idea that for me this is a big change as a professional, but not as a mother and a person who believes in the family and the importance of early childhood development. Every day, I and the entire team of Karin Dom create confidence step by step in each child and his/her parents, who have entered the center, to live an independent, full life, with dreams, equal rights and above all with a supportive community.
For us, it is a success and a we feel joy when a family stays together despite their difficulties, despite the pain they feel that their child is different and that imposes a different life for all, including a serious period of adaptation to the new and in most cases unexpected reality. These are the moments that have inspired our team over the years, along with the belief in the dream of a new, large, therapeutic complex in support of even more families and trainings of specialists. This year we made this dream come true and the building is already a fact.
How does the team cope with the challenges of implementing such a specific project as a therapeutic complex for children with special needs and what are the next steps?
The truth is that this important project for us and for families with children with special needs was realized in a complex situation with many unknowns and challenges during the pandemic. The plot for construction is a donation from the Municipality of Varna, voted with an absolute majority of the Municipal Council, where all party differences were put aside in the name of the most valuable – the children. Naturally, with a clear action plan and the right team of specialists in the project phase, decisions on various cases were easily and successfully made. Without the right partners in the face of an architectural studio and a construction company, we could not build it in just 1 year and 8 days of construction. Last but not least, thanks to donations from citizens and responsible businesses, we were able to meet the differences in the prices of construction materials from the project approved in 2016 until its realization in 2022 which was funded by the Velux Foundations. Now the final challenge is to furnish and equip the new center.
The New Karin Dom will provide a variety of functions and services under one roof – physiotherapy and hydrotherapy for children with mobility impairments, early intervention center, children’s health center, early diagnosis, Montessori center and children’s demonstration kitchen, diagnostic rooms, individual and group therapy, a modern sensory hall, a medical center, training halls and an administrative part, a courtyard with two playgrounds, for which our foundation needs more like-minded people. Fortunately for us, however, we keep finding them in the face of more and more socially engaged companies, and best of all – Bulgarian ones. The last event organized for our support is a charity marathon, which will be held in Varna this Saturday.
How can people from Varna help Karin Dom by running in our beautiful Sea Garden?
Dentaprime Runcity is a great invigorating event with a cause, to which I invite all Varna residents – young and old – to join. We need such initiatives that educate not only the body but also the heart! Participation is completely free and with many stimulating prizes (holidays on the island of Mauritius and Antalya, a trip to Disneyland – Paris, bicycles and many more) and for each finishing participant the organizers donate BGN 5 for the furnishing of the new therapeutic complex.
The competition will support a significant cause for Varna and early childhood development. Varna will run in support of the new therapeutic and educational complex of Karin Dom and we are extremely grateful to the organizers of the initiative and to all Varna residents who will join, because the more, the better! Let’s run together on May 28 from 10:00 a.m. starting from the entrance to the Sea Garden – this time not only for good health but also for the future of children, because each of us can change the environment and life of children with their own example!
The organizers ask anyone who wishes to join to register HERE to receive instructions on where to get their start number and T-shirt to avoid the inconvenience of possible waiting in line on the day.
