Tihomir Georgiev from Smokinya /Fig/ Foundation spent almost 7 years searching for the perfect place to turn into a center for quality youth work.
In the 1950s, the Hristo Botev School in the village of Mrachenik closed its doors. For years the school remained unused. Until it found its purpose. Or rather, its "good owners", who would give it a new life.
Tihomir Georgiev from Smokinya Foundation spent almost 7 years searching for the perfect place to turn into a center for quality youth work when one den he ran into the school. In the summer of 2023, the Foundation organized and ran an international work camp with 37 participants from 17 countries who helped clean up the yard. The goal is more than clear - to transform an old and sad building into a creative volunteer center for youth and local communities.
Tihomir created the Foundation in 2016. Since then, he and his team have managed to implement 17 projects, send over 700 young people on exchange abroad, and host over 400 young people from all over Europe. All the while, he never stopped learning and looking for opportunities to improve his work with the NGO. This is how he became part of a total of 60 people involved in the FRGI Initiative project. You can learn more about Tihomir's work in the video below.
The Project Initiative for building the next generation of civic leaders is implemented with the financial support of Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway under the Active Citizens Fund Bulgaria within the framework of the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area. The main objective of the project is an accumulation of knowledge, and skills and creating the conditions for transfer of experience to young leaders of civic organizations. The project is implemented by the Workshop for Civic Initiatives Foundation.