The words above are how a teammate on our Petko Hinov Foundation project “Together for the Children of Bulgaria” described what we lived through this past week. There are many layers in those choice words, and rooted in them are beautiful, inspiring stories of adventure. I myself may not find words to do justice to an experience so emotionally rich – I need a few more days to make sense of it, once the tiredness settles, couched as it is in such enormous satisfaction at what we created TOGETHER.
In the pretty little village of Stokite, nestled in the Balkan mountains between Botev, the giant peak of Stara Planina, and Buhal – the Owl, asleep beneath a blanket of beech forest – something magical happened. Twenty children came together to do good: to learn through experience about themselves, and how real teamwork draws out collective wisdom, in order to restore a forgotten corner of Stara Planina. The ‘Buhal Eco Trail’ project was born. This was their mission, and they poured their hearts and a great deal of hard work into it.
Before they could carry it out, they had to move past their own physical and emotional limits – by climbing the highest peak of Stara Planina – Botev. We tackled it from the south, through Rai hut and the Tarzan path. Only an adventure of such seriousness lets us test ourselves. It asks for care for the other, mutual help, patience, enormous resilience and, above all, humility before the mountain.
Year after year I am amazed at how young people manage to mobilise and learn to be a real team, led by shared meaning, mission and vision. This is no accident! They come to know themselves not in a sterile environment, but out in the field – there where the challenges are many and varied. They harness physical, mental and emotional energy, and show the qualities they carry within. In every tent, for instance, the young people chose one quality from the Inner Development Goals to reflect on and to develop consciously through the programme – self-awareness, courage, humility, co-creation, and critical thinking.
There is so much woven into the bright, patterned rug of whole learning through experience.
On the final evening, nestled around the campfire, we made a circle of gratitude. So many warm words were shared, through the experience which left a lasting mark on us all: connection, and a longing to do more good.
May wisdom and the Owl guide us.
The documentary film “Adventurers with a Mission 2026” is coming soon.
Meet the Buhal Eco Trail project here: https://buhala.org