Founders of Richmond's "Zora" Bulgarian School: Let's keep our roots and our Bulgarian spirit!

"Have faith in our children", say Irina and Sofia Kushlevi

published on 7/30/24 1:21 PM

Sophia and Irina Kushleva

Photo: Personal archive

The story of the Bulgarian Sunday School "Zora" in Richmond began in 2014 in the capital of the US state of Virginia. Ten years ago it had only 14 students; today it has three times that number. Parents spend time and money to send their child to a Bulgarian school, and since classes are held on weekends, they also have to give up family holidays. But it is worth the effort - although far from their parents' homeland, the children will still know where they come from, preserve the language and traditions, and spread the knowledge of Bulgaria to their American peers.

The Bulgarian Sunday School "Zora" was founded by Sophia and Irina Kushleva - mother and daughter. We speak to them in Lisbon, during a large educational forum organised for teachers from Bulgarian Sunday schools.

"Our school was founded in 2014. We started with 14 children, and now we teach more than 45 children of different ages, including 3-year-olds in our kindergarten. They all learn about Bulgarian history, culture and traditions".

Sophia Kushleva, Irina's mother, adds that the support of the parents is very important. Thanks to them, there is now a close-knit Bulgarian community in Richmond. And at the "Zora" school, the children have the opportunity not only to communicate with other Bulgarians, but also to learn the Bulgarian language, to become acquainted with the traditions, history and culture of our people, and to develop habits.

But every rose has its thorn. Like anywhere else in the world, Bulgarian schools in Virginia face challenges.

"The biggest problem at the moment is space, or rather the cost of rent and overheads," Irina Kushleva tells us, "In order to fit into our current budget, we have to divide the students into two school days. In our case it is Saturday and Sunday, because the distances in America are so great that we cannot have classes on weekdays. And it so happens that we don't have a day off. From Monday to Friday we work at our main jobs and on Saturday and Sunday we are at school all day".

Despite all this, both Irina and her mother Sophia find time to improve their teaching skills by attending training sessions and practical seminars, such as those organised in recent years by the Association of Bulgarian Schools Abroad or the Ministry of Education and Science.

"I also count on the children a great deal. They show me the right way to teach. For example, I give them a topic to focus on next week. And I ask them whether we should play a game, read something on the Internet or watch an educational film. Many colleagues tell me that their pupils like the films on the Internet. But mine don't like it when I show them a film for 5-6 minutes and then discuss it. They prefer us to draw something and colour it. In history, for example, we usually make comparisons with US history. This helps the children to understand that Bulgaria is a country with a long history, with a rich culture and traditions. This means that they have something to be proud of.

Irina Kushleva is an accountant and works for a refrigerator manufacturing company. She is also involved in computer software programming, mainly in accounting. She is married and has a son - Nikola.

"My husband is Bulgarian, we speak only Bulgarian at home and try to bring up our child to know and appreciate Bulgarian traditions. We celebrate all the Bulgarian holidays. We knead bread for Christmas, we dye eggs for Easter. Of course, we also observe American traditions, because my son sees what kids do at school, he understands that it's different, and I don't want him to feel different.

But we always compare how it is in Bulgaria, why there is a difference, what is the tradition there, what we do in America. That way he gets to know both cultures and their traditions, he gets to experience different emotions. We go to Bulgaria every year. In fact, he really likes the city of Plovdiv and can't wait to complete the school year and go to Plovdiv to run around, play with the kids, go outside to the swings, ride his bike..."

Is she thinking of returning to her homeland for good, we ask Irina at the end of our conversation?

" I think about it occasionally, although it is very difficult when you have lived so many years in different standards of living. We're used to always being in a hurry to get somewhere, always having a strict plan to follow, and going to a café and sitting there for two hours, for example, is sometimes quite unusual for us. But it probably won't be hard to get used to. And I see some progress in Bulgaria. In the past, for example, if you went to a state institution, they would first tell you why you were there and then ask you what you needed. Now I see that things are much better regulated - they use a ticket system, there is no hassle, so we are going in the right direction. Let's have faith, especially in our children! They are our future!

Photos: Facebook/ zora.bgcenter, Krasimir Martinov, personal archive

Posted and translated by Elizabeth Radkova

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Founders of Richmond's "Zora" Bulgarian School: Let's keep our roots and our Bulgarian spirit!

"Have faith in our children", say Irina and Sofia Kushlevi

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