I am Dr Radosveta Stamenkova and I am part of the Bulgarian Family Planning and Sexual Health Association. A doctor by training, an activist by calling, although I most often introduce myself with a smile: “I’m in charge of the nation’s sex life.” I am a recipient of the National Network for Children’s Golden Apple Award for lifetime contribution to children’s well-being, as well as an honorary distinction from the President of Bulgaria marking the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
And if you ask my heart – it carries hearts, just like in Cummings’ poem. Thousands of them. For three decades now.
My stories are an entire ocean – faces, voices, former students who now bring their own children for consultations, people from neighbourhoods and towns who tell me: “You probably don’t remember me, but I came to your office on Dondukov Boulevard for a leaflet, for some advice… and it helped me so much.”
These are memories that fill the soul. But if I had to choose just one image, let it be a bright one – the image of the tunnel.
In the Roma neighbourhood of Kavaklia in Dupnitsa, there is – or at least there used to be – a dark and frightening pedestrian tunnel. Dozens of children and adults passed through it every day. We work with the local community on issues such as health education and fake news. But nothing was quite as transformative as an art event we organised together with Alexi, an incredible street artist.
The children cleaned, painted and covered the entire tunnel with artwork. Then they wrote a letter to the mayor asking for lighting.
And you know what? The municipality installed the lights.
The light in that tunnel is about much more than electricity. It is the light that appears when someone begins to believe that their voice matters. These are the moments that give me strength – seeing not only development, but also self-respect, confidence and transformation from within.
When I graduated from medical school, I knew I was not going to become the traditional doctor with a stethoscope around my neck. I wanted to do something more – something interdisciplinary, something different. Back then, there was no “profession” in Bulgaria that matched what I wanted to be.
So I invented one for myself.
In our organisation, we talk about the things that matter – sexual and reproductive health, rights, communication between children and parents, subjects that remained taboo for a very long time. We work with respect, honesty and humour.
Children deserve to know. They deserve to be asked, heard and supported. And that is what we are here for.
And our team? Amazing. Somehow, everyone who crosses our path ends up staying – in one way or another.
Change is not always loud. Sometimes it is like an egg: if you break it from the outside, you make an omelette. If it cracks from within, life is born.
That inner change – in children, in the community, in the world – is the real victory.
The National Network for Children gives me a sense of belonging. Because of the people. Because of the cause. Because of the belief that we are not alone.
We advocate. We work on the ground. We help institutions develop better policies – not because it is easy, but because we believe that every child deserves a chance.
I could say many things to the new professionals and activists who are just beginning to work with children. But most of all, I would tell them:
Laugh with children, never at them.
Ask them what new thing they have learned, not whether they have been “well-behaved”.
And let them teach you something, too.
The people who do all of this are genuinely good people. A little crazy, perhaps.
They’re my kind of people!
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This article is part of the National Network for Children’s new series, “Stories from the Heart of the Network”, inviting you to glimpse the world of those who work every day, often quietly and unnoticed, for the rights and well-being of children in Bulgaria. We share real stories of specialists, activists, and professionals from NMD member organisations – people who do not just perform their duties, but live with the cause of creating a better future for every child.
