This year, Radio Bulgaria invited children from Bulgarian schools abroad, named after Vasil Levski, to record and film their thoughts about the hero, to read an essay or recite a poem, to sing a song or to paint a picture depicting Levski. Our initiative is part of a national programme, supported by the Ministry of Culture, to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Levski's death. Ten schools took part. They gave us an insight into how they study the history and traditions of their homeland. We told their stories in a series of beautiful multimedia publications on the website of Radio Bulgaria, in the section Vasil Levski Revisited.

• The memory of Levski - from Tsaribrod, Serbia to Chaco, Argentina
• The monument of the Apostle in Sofia - a place where all Bulgarians pay respect to the hero

"Through the joint initiative with Sunday schools abroad, Radio Bulgaria is showing our compatriots at home that Bulgarians living outside the country will never forget their history and heroes," said Krasimir Martinov, editor-in-chief of Radio Bulgaria.

It is amazing how much passion and emotion Bulgarian children put into telling stories about the Apostle. In their eyes, he is a true superhero:

"The older ones see in Vasil Levski a political figure, the younger ones a fiction, a man from fairy tales. It was most fun to talk about Vasil Levski with children of 10 or 11, because they could not believe that there could be such a man who was both charismatic enough to lead so many Bulgarians after him, and intelligent, well-read, well-spoken, good-looking, physically fit enough to make such long tours around Bulgaria in all seasons. That's why one of the children in my class told me that he imagined Levski as a superhero. He even described him as a comic book character, with purple hair and orange clothes - Daniela Georgieva, president of the Vasil Levski Association in Shannon, which organises a Sunday school for the children of Bulgarians in the Irish town, told Radio Bulgaria.

• Vasil Levski - unsurpassed in courage, defied an empire

Many of the children of Bulgarian citizens were born abroad, often in mixed families, and for them Bulgarian is a second or even third language. And although it is sometimes difficult for them to express their thoughts in Bulgarian, the recordings, interviews and videos that we have received show all their eagerness to demonstrate their knowledge of the Bulgarian national hero Vasil Levski and their Bulgarian cultural belonging. "Learning to love one's homeland begins with the first letter, the first song and the first verse that a child is taught about Bulgaria," explains Biserka Ivanova, a teacher at the oldest Bulgarian Sunday school in Paris, which bears the name of Vasil Levski. According to her, the children are highly motivated to learn more about Bulgaria and to speak the language.

"It comes from the family, from the relationship they have with Bulgaria, and that is their initial motivation - to be able to communicate fully in Bulgarian when they are on vacation, to understand what they see, to tell about their experience. Because if the language is not there - the connection is lost," Ms Ivanova told Radio Bulgaria.

Milena Vezenkova is another of our many compatriots who have sought a better future abroad. More than 23 years ago she went to the UK, where she met her husband - also a Bulgarian. They started a family, their children were born and .... the family founded a Bulgarian school in Barking, East London (UK). They chose the name without hesitation - Bulgarian School "Vasil Levski":

"I come from the village of Voynyagovo, where Vasil Levski taught children to read and write. To this day there is a schoolhouse museum, widely known as The School," explains Milena Vezenkova.

Also, Voynyagovo primary school, where I studied as a child, is named after the Apostle. So when the idea of establishing a Bulgarian school in London came up many years later, there was no doubt or hesitation about the name, she says.

Beyond the historical facts and developments, for today's youngest Bulgarians in Barking, and we believe for the children of our compatriots around the world, the most interesting stories are those related to the humanity and courage of Levski - how he disguised himself in different clothes to escape the Ottoman troops, how he was captured at the Kakrina inn because his shoe laces got caught in the fence, how children at the Voynyagovo school wrote on sand and Levski sang songs to them - simply human stories that create an image of the great personality and stay in the memory for life. And inspiration often finds expression in the video films that Bulgarian kids all over the world create thinking of Levski.

Text: Elena Karkalanova

Translated and posted by Eliizabeth Radkova