Speaker of the Parliament Dimitar Glavchev has opened a charity exhibition and bazaar “Children Draw for Children”. The exhibition, organised by the Parliament and the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, aims to raise funds for children with oncological conditions. The funds will be used for the purchase of medical equipment for the needs of the Children’s Haematology and Oncology Clinic at Tsaritsa Yoanna University Hospital in Sofia.

For us, MPs, it is an honour to host such an exhibition, said the Speaker of the Parliament. In his words, children are our future and it is important that we are empathetic when they are in trouble. We hope that through the pictures the children’s voices will resonate loud enough and that is why we should help them, added Dimitar Glavchev.

His Eminence Metropolitan Gabriel of Lovech and Head of the Department of Culture and Education at the Holy Synod emphasised that the works of art were a glimpse of hope for sick children and that there was a lot of sincerity, authenticity and joy in them. They depict the Resurrection of Christ, which is the greatest Christian feast, with the purest feelings of love and faith, he added. Metropolitan Gabriel said that those high emotions have inspired the young artists.

Prof Dobrin Konstantinov, MD, Head of the Children’s Haematology and Oncology Clinic at Tsaritsa Yoanna University Hospital, expressed his satisfaction with the fact that the initiative had achieved its goal: not only to educate spiritually and morally, but also to involve children in the name of a very noble cause. I am very happy that we are understood and respected and I believe that in the future, our patients will continue to receive such support, said Prof Konstantinov.

Three Infusomat systems have been purchased with the funds raised at the first round of the “Children Draw for Children” charity campaign: volumetric infusion pumps for accurate adjustment of the flow rate in the treatment of children with oncological conditions. The goal of the organisers of the exhibition and bazaar is to raise donations to purchase more of this equipment.