In The Hague: Students of the Vasil Levski Sunday School live in admiration of the Apostle

published on 12/28/23 7:15 AM

Photo: bgschoolvasillevski.nl

There's a miniature Bulgaria in the administrative capital of the Netherlands, centred around the city's two Bulgarian Sunday schools. Here we tell you about the most recently founded one, named after the apostle of Bulgarian freedom, Vasil Levski.

" For us it is very important that children know the name of the Apostle of Freedom Vassil Levski from a very young age and that he is an important and sacred figure for every Bulgarian in The Hague," explains Filiz Ahmedova, the head of the Vasil Levski Sunday school.

"This is the third academic year of our school, which was established in 2021 by the founders of The Other Bulgaria Foundation in the Netherlands," Ms Ahmedova said in an interview with Radio Bulgaria. Our school is located in the Laak district, where the Bulgarian community is concentrated. There are 130 children studying there and considering that it is only 3 years old, this is a great achievement for us. We are happy that we have managed to help more Bulgarian children to get in touch with the Bulgarian language".

For the past two years, the school has had a nursery group for children over the age of two.

The profile of Bulgarian immigrants scattered across Europe and the world is diverse, as are the reasons they have chosen to live away from their homeland. The Bulgarians in The Hague are no exception: "The parents of our students left Bulgaria many years ago. They left reluctantly, for economic reasons. Our observations show that they have no intention of returning to Bulgaria, but want to bring up their children and nurture their Bulgarian identity,' says Filiz Ahmedova.

Since its establishment, the Bulgarian National School "Vasil Levski" has gone through difficult times. In its first year, it had to be self-funded, and its headmistress had to find a suitable building and teachers willing to teach in their spare time on weekends. Fortunately, all this was overcome and today the team of six teachers, who work with the children in two shifts, are more motivated than ever. Whereas two years ago the school only had classes on Saturdays, there is now so much interest that not only is there a Sunday school day, but the school also uses the neighbourhood centre building for its classes.

" After we published the announcement about the new Bulgarian school, we received many phone calls and congratulations on the choice of the name," recalls Filiz Ahmedova. As if the news that there would be a new Bulgarian school in The Hague was not as exciting as the fact that it would be named after the Apostle."

As in the other Bulgarian Sunday schools around the world, the Bulgarian children at the Vasil Levski School in The Hague study Bulgarian language and literature, history and geography, as well as folklore, a subject in which they learn about Bulgarian traditions and Orthodox Christian holidays - the Nativity, Palm Sunday, Easter, etc. A few days ago, in their literature class, the students honoured the memory of the Bulgarian poet Petya Dubarova with a special performance. The occasion was 4 December, the 44th anniversary of her untimely death in 1979 at the age of 17.

The school celebrates its name day every year on 18 February - the day on which Bulgaria's most revered hero, freedom fighter Vasil Levski, was hanged on the gallows.

The life and work of Vasil Ivanov Kunchev and some of his legacy are introduced to the younger pupils by the older pupils of the school in The Hague. Afterwards, all the pupils take part in a lion-jumping competition. They reflect on the deacon's sacrifice for their homeland, which is now a free and independent country. They also sing a hymn in his honour, written by the poet Maria Ninova, called "Song to the Apostle". And now they are happy to take part in Radio Bulgaria's initiative "Vasil Levski Revisited".