Bear Necessities
Bear Necessities for Bulgaria is a non-profit fundraising group supporting social and educational projects in a small Bulgarian village.
In 2009, founders Christina & Cathey made a film following a shoebox Christmas gift. During their visit they fell in love with the people and wanted to help them meet their needs. They decided to raise funds and awareness in their local area in Scotland and roped in their friend, Louise. Thanks to the love and support of many people Bear Necessities was born in 2010 and has been raising funds and delivering aid and projects ever since.
Project details
"Build My Church" is a project inspired by the work of the tiny Scottish Charity, Bear Necessities for Bulgaria. Thirteen years ago, Bear Necessities began supporting the children of a small, primarily gypsy village in rural Bulgaria to attend school. Currently, Bear Necessities operate a soup kitchen and medical clinic, and provide winter boots to all school aged children in the village, as well as a few other key projects, and have been doing this with the support of Rumen Ganushev, a local minister. This project "Build My Church" will work with Rumen to plant a church at the centre of the large residential district of the city of Sliven. We want that church to have a truly holistic approach, meaning it will offer services for teaching and worship and prayer, but in time the vision is for the church to also provide free access to health care, food for the hungry, and training and support for the leadership of other churches in the district.