Residents of Rezovo are repairing their chitalishte (community cultural centre) themselves and collecting donations to pay for the work, says Stefka Delcheva, chair of the chitalishte board.

The chitalishte is in the village mayoralty building, built in 1954. The rooms have not been used for many years and need a major overhaul. Volunteers began with the hall with the cinema room, which measures 104 sq m, is 4.5 m high and has a large stage. They started by pulling down the old false ceiling and in two days hauled out about 120 sacks of stones, plaster and reeds.

The hall is now clean, and the board is looking for workers to fit a suspended ceiling. New wiring is needed too. So far volunteers have done all the work.

The "Rezvaya 2024" chitalishte is registered, and the work started from there. The library opened first, and more than 2,000 of its titles were donated.

The donation drive is running in the Facebook group "Rezovo and those who like it". Delcheva says many people are responding to the appeal.

She told of an elderly woman who gave €10 only once she was sure she would get through the month. Until then, the woman had kept the money for bread and for medicine in case she needed it. Other donors have given €1,000 each from their own savings.

"For one person €10 is everything, for another €1,000 may be a sum that does not weigh so much on their own budget," Delcheva told BNR. She said all the donors are generous and none can be called more generous than another. "Their generosity comes from the heart, and I cannot measure it in money," she added.

Money can be sent to the account with IBAN BG64DEMI92401000353810 at "Commercial Bank D" AD, FC BURGAS. The recipient is REZVAYA - 2024 G. NARODNO CHITALISHTE, at the address Bulgaria, REZOVO 8281, REZVAYA KMETSTVO 3.