The first-graders at G. S. Rakovski 120th Primary School with a donation from EKO Bulgaria and a gre

The Minister of Education and Science and Mr. Alexis Athanasopulos, CEO of EKO Bulgaria, took part in the opening of the new school year.

Sofia, 17 September 2018
The first day of school is always an occasion for a lot of emotions. There are no two opinions that the first-graders are most excited, as for them the first school bell marks the beginning of a new, unknown and adventurous part of their lives.

For the 100 first-graders at G. S. Rakovski 120th Primary School in the capital, the excitement was even greater. On the occasion of their first meeting with the school, they received a wonderful gift from EKO Petrol Stations and were greeted by three very special guests. The first one was the Minister of Education and Science, Mr. Krasimir Valchev, who addressed the children with the words, “Happy double holiday! By a happy coincidence, in addition to the first day of school, today we honour the memory of the holy martyrs Sofia, Faith, Hope and Love. Although the first day of school is not an official holiday, in my opinion it is one of the most festive days of the year. When and where else can we see so many flowers and smiles? Today is the day of a positive new beginning, and education is what unites us,” said Minister Valchev.

Besides the Minister, among the official guests were the Mayor of Lozenets District Mr. Lyubomir Drekov and the CEO of EKO Bulgaria Mr. Alexis Athanasopulos. "It is a real honour for me to be here today and to share the emotions of this so important and exciting day. The lives and safety of children are the most important thing for each of us. For this reason, we must do our best to teach them the rules of road safety. This is exactly what motivates us to donate this interactive playground for training in traffic rules,” said Mr. Atanasopoulos.

The donation made by the oil company to the first-graders includes a special interactive playground for road safety training, teaching aids, reflective vests, backpack reflectors and a colouring school program. Naturally, the children were most impressed by the interactive playground with dimensions 10x6m, which is a scaled model of the urban environment with road markings, road signs and traffic lights. The motivation behind the donation is to help the youngest road users learn the rules of road safety in the best and most pleasant way - through games and entertainment. The gesture of EKO Petrol Stations is part of their long-term initiative for social responsibility, aimed at increasing the attention to road safety in Bulgaria.