Bulgaria is one of the emerging countries of Eastern Europe, bordering Turkey, Greece, FYOR Macedonia and Serbia and Romania. It is a developed country but one experiencing the traumas of adjustment to market economic reforms since the `changes' of 1989 and the return to democratic government. Unlike many other Eastern European countries it had only a short time to enjoy independence after centuries of Turkish domination, before being subjected to nearly half a century of Communist rule following the second world war. Further problems were caused during the recent Balkan conflicts, particularly when the Danube river, a major trading route, was blocked during the NATO bombing campaign, and sanctions were applied to a major trading partner, Serbia.
Bulgaria is
a modern developed country but one experiencing much poverty.
It experiences high levels of unemployment with many skilled and
well educated people doing unskilled work at low levels of pay.
State pension levels are extremely low. Although dental services
are available, very few people can afford dentistry and consequently
they experience difficulty in accessing even emergency dental
services.
For example, Bulgarian pensions are between 50-70 Leva per month (16-23 UK pounds/month), and a basic primary caries treatment with a filling would cost 20 Leva with simple extraction a similar cost. Root canal treatment would be 40-50 Leva, with the most basic prosthetics starting at 80 - 150 Leva.
The need in Petrich is not so much for skilled people from abroad, but assistance with financial resources to enable skilled and committed local people to fulfil their considerable potential and provide a service locally over the long term.
Todor
Zarev is the pastor of Petrich Baptist Church in SW Bulgaria.
He is a qualified dentist, converted to Christianity during the
period of Communist rule. He has since trained as a pastor, and Petya has studied at the Sofia Evangelical Institute. Todor and Petya together have led the growing church in Petrich for
some years. They are currently both pursuing Master of Theology
degrees part time as distance learners with the International
Baptist Seminary in Prague. Petrich BC has been linked with Wimborne Baptist Church (of which I am pastor) for several years now, and we have had
opportunity to share in the life and ministry of this couple for
some considerable time, and see how committed they are both to
the Lord, and to their calling to serve the Baptist church and
community of Petrich. We respect and admire their dedication and
can
vouch
for their integrity. My wife Jill and I were able to make a
visit to Petrich in October 2002 and see the situation first hand.
With their skills and grasp of foreign languages Todor and Petya
could have followed many Bulgarian emigrants to the West, but
they have chosen, at considerable personal cost, to remain and
serve in their own country.
As well as the pastoral and evangelistic work which both he and his wife do in the growing church in Petrich, Todor wishes to use his dentistry skills to offer free dental services within his church and local community. There is a considerable demand for his work within Petrich town, as although other dental offices are available, people cannot afford to pay. This has resulted in people whose first priority was relief for acute dental pain, finding out about Jesus Christ and attending the church. When I was last in Petrich, I noticed several people stop Todor in the street and ask him for appointments for dental work which they otherwise would be unable to afford - he tells me jokingly that he is known as "Dr. Pain", not because of the pain he causes, but because of the pain he can cure. Evangelical Christians are regarded with some suspicion in Orthodox dominated Bulgaria, yet Todor is respected in his local community as a man of compassion and integrity.
During 2001 Todor and Petya had the opportunity to make a sponsored visit to the United States and received some portable dental equipment from World Dental Relief. You can read about that story here - it includes Todor's testimony. Since that visit Todor has been able to rent a dental office at a very low rental where he uses his portable equipment, and is looking to set up some more permanent equipment. I will let him speak in his own words.
"I am busy with our dental project for a year now running a charity dental practice using a portable dental equipment. I started this project desiring to help the poor people in Bulgaria who live in misery (especially the retired people). Looking at the prices a treatment of only one tooth costs a pension, so most of the people are not able to afford it."
"The World Dental Relief was so generous giving the portable equipment and I could use it, opening a social dental office as part of the church activity. The portable equipment is okay but it is more suitable for emergency cases and I can use only the compressor and drill on a low speed."
"Of course I need an autoclave and X-ray which are very important if I have to work properly. Actually I also need a normal dental chair and an equipment which fulfil the requirments for an average dental office."
"I have committed myself to serve in the church and to serve the people using all of my abilities and I would be happy to do dentistry including all the procedures if I had the chance to. It is a pity to have a registered dental office after several months of struggling to find it and to get the permission to work, and now to be restricted to use it."
Because of
the close and long-standing twinning link that Wimborne
Baptist Church
has with Petrich we have the advantage of first hand knowledge
of this situation and can give long term support and oversight.
We are confident that this request represents a genuine need and
that those involved are people whose only desire is to benefit
their local community. We also feel that this sort of project
will be of genuine benefit to people most in need of support,
and has the merit of being carried out by Bulgarians, using Bulgarian
skills, for the benefit of Bulgarian people.
We are delighted that during 2003-2004 it has been possible to raise enough money to send out a complete surgery refurbished by UK Christian dental charity Dentaid - the export was a bit hairy, with our shipment being held up in Sofia customs and then re-exported to Greece for a while, but it is now in Petrich and in use for the benefit of the citizens of Petrich. A Bulgarian Christian pastor using his dental skills to benefit fellow Bulgarians, and also give an effective witness to the practical reality of the good news of Jesus. A massive thank you to all who have helped. As an update - following our visit in October 2005, we discovered that Todor will need new surgery premises from September 2006 and we are investigating whether we can finance the purchase of a dental caravan, which will also enable him to visit local orphanages and do dental work for them, even if the building does not have a proper licensed room for dental surgery. If you are able to help us with this please do get in touch via our email page.
You can find out more about our Bulgarian partners by going to the Bulgarian section of our church web page where you will find links to other pages about Bulgaria. You can read a report about our recent visit to Petrich.
Please do contact us at if you are able to help us make this expansion of the dental project become a reality that can make a real difference to people in Petrich.
