On one of the coldest winter days of February, volunteers from the Order of Malta, together with operators from Caritas-Sofia, are handing out portions of warm pasta to the homeless in front of the Rila Hotel in the capital. The temperatures are below freezing, but people are hungry and the warm food makes them travel from different neighbourhoods to the weekly food distribution.
They line up and even start fighting among themselves, as the portions are limited and unfortunately there is not enough for everyone.
“We started this project a few years ago because we saw that people needed it and we are very grateful to the Italian restaurant “Da Mamma Carla&Fabio”, which provided us with the portions – says the Ambassador of the Order of Malta in Bulgaria Ursula Hofter Zuccoli and adds “We want to bring not only food, but also hope and attention to these people”.
The homeless truly enjoy a warm attitude and respect, which the operators in the mobile care for the homeless of Caritas Sofia have been providing them for many years. “A large part of society either does not notice them or rejects them – shares Maria Markova from Caritas Sofia and explains that they provide them with valuable information about the possibilities for shelter, bathing and food in Sofia. There are three municipal accommodation centres in the capital, but they provide shelter for a maximum of six months. Caritas’ mobile care receives various signals from citizens and considers each case in its complexity. “Everyone has an individual story, and a large part of these people have been on the streets for many years, some have alcohol addiction or use drugs.”
Together with us, 35-year-old Dantes Denchev comes to the Italian restaurant, who in 2012 lost first his mother and then his father. So, along with several properties from his parents, Dantes also inherited the liens on the apartment, which the bank soon took away from him. Then he lived in a garage for eight years, and recently he has been on the streets. When it is warm, he sleeps in the garden behind the mosque, and when it is cold, he seeks help from friends. His luggage is in different places, and in two bags he has collected his most valuable belongings. Dantes presents himself as an actor, gives performances on the street and shows an ambitious project for an art show worth 11 million leva.
Another recipient of the Order of Malta’s hot meal is Yancho Stoyanov, 65, also an artist and extra in some movies, who, however, has not participated in any film for a long time. He sleeps in his own van, and sometimes in a room in a neighborhood in Simeonovo. He is very happy with the hot meal, because it fills him up.
“This winter is colder than the last one,” explains Maria Markova from Caritas Sofia, and the hot lunch is really valuable for these people. Caritas recently distributed special wind and cold-resistant sleeping bags. According to Maria, the state must find a way to resocialize these people, because many of them, with the appropriate help, could find a job and some kind of room to live in and thus return to normal life.
