My husband Georgi is 100% disabled and requires constant assistance after suffering a severe stroke. We live on the second floor of a building without an elevator, and for the past 8 years, he has not been able to leave our home independently because he cannot climb or descend the stairs. Each time, we have to ask friends and neighbors to help move him in his wheelchair up and down.

This is exhausting, dangerous, and humiliating. We wanted to apply for the “Accessible Housing Environment” program through the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy to install a stairlift platform. Unfortunately, to be approved for this program, we need consent signatures from all neighbors. Despite news reports on Nova TV and local media in Kardzhali, and even though we have been negotiating with our neighbors since January 2024, we have not received their signatures. They refuse, arguing that the platform would be in the way and make noise.

Therefore, we cannot apply for the program, and the only option left is to build the platform ourselves, which we unfortunately cannot afford. The law allows us to do this with municipal permission without neighbors’ signatures, but only if we finance the construction ourselves. The project, including the platform and all additional construction works, costs BGN 53,000 (approximately €27,000). This is the price of freedom for a man who would otherwise be trapped in his own home. I sincerely ask for your help – please help us raise these funds.

Every donation, every contribution is a step towards allowing my husband to see the street, nature, the doctor, or simply the sun again. With respect, Silviya Barutchieva