Mihaylov- Assignment 3

     My parents have always tried to teach me everything they can about my Bulgarian culture and heritage. Every summer, we try to go there to spend time with my family and learn more about Bulgaria. This year, however, we were unable to do so as the COVID-19 pandemic prevented flights from being safe. 

    It was during this time that I read about an orphanage in Bulgaria, and that it was heavily donor-reliant. The main problem was that people had, naturally, started to save money during the pandemic and as result, the shelter was not getting enough funding to continue operating. So, I had gathered myself and a few friends and we made a GoFundMe campaign which reached out to Bulgarians in America asking for donations. The entire project really helped me expand my views on not just Bulgaria, but other countries in Eastern Europe. I realized how bad it actually is there, even though I had been there a considerable amount of my life. It showed me Bulgaria from a different lens, and I saw the true problems of poverty and famine.