Career in the field of natural sciences, many years of research activity in the field of analytical chemistry, lecturer in organic chemistry at the South-West University in Blagoevgrad - this is part of the remarkable biography of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Katya Lekova. But recognition and success in the field of science, according to her, are not enough if they are not accompanied by a special message to the people of today's and future Bulgaria. Katya Lekova's message is one - do good and donate, only kindness is remembered and reaches people's hearts.

This interview with this remarkable Bulgarian woman is dedicated to generosity.

In 2018, Ms. Lekova sent a painting of her own, painted on glass with an author's technique developed personally by her, to a charity auction in London. The painting was purchased by a nobleman in the British capital and the proceeds were given to a charity for children in Bulgaria.

• Katya Lekova recreates Roman mosaics on glass

Another priceless donation from this lady with a noble spirit was sent to the History Museum in Pomorie. Her choice fell on the museum in Pomorie because of its good organization and the professionalism of the museum workers.

"In 2014 I went to see a Roman mosaic that had been excavated in the centre of the town. I visited this museum and I was very impressed with its collections, with its many exhibits, and it is only 25 years old," says Associate Professor Katya Lekova.

"The collection I donated contains 28 exhibits related to our lifestyle, culture and art. Many of the items were made by my mother, who was born in 1911. I thought it was good for them to be in the museum because they illustrate very well the refined aestheticism of the Bulgarian woman of the early 1900s. Lace was used to decorate the homes of our parents just about 100 years ago. In the 1930s my mother studied at the Dupnitsa Highschool of Economy, at the time a very prestigious and popular institution. The students were taught ti knit lace and make embroidery with fine Chinese silk. Anyway, the so-called point lace is a now forgotten art. It resembles Brussels lace and has been made in this country since the Renaissance. The special thing about it is that tape laces are first woven or knitted and then joined in a special way with a sewing needle. Only white thread was used as the lace had to be white. The exhibits that I donated to the museum in Pomorie have now been shaped into a collection and I am pleased that in this way I have managed to preserve the ancestral memory."

Katya Lekova connects the beauty of the exhibits she has donated to the museum with the richness of Bulgarian folk costumes, with which dance ensembles win the hearts of audiences around the world. "I am very proud that everyone appreciates our folklore, saying that our costumes are unsurpassed in their colourful splendour," says Katya Lekova.

"That's why in my work and in my charity I am guided by two things - to keep the Bulgarian identity and to be good. It's important when one does something for the common cause not to look at what one will get in return. An old Bulgarian saying goes that when you do good, you should throw it behind your back and forget about it. And then fate will take care of you. 

But philanthropy can be seen, at least in my case, as a family trait. My great-great-grandfather and grandmother, Yane and Stefania, were among the founders of the Rila Monastery. They are painted full-length in the chapel to the left of the Miraculous Icon there, as benefactors of this holy place. They donated a lot of gold to the monastery even during the Ottoman rule. I am very proud of them and take my children and grandchildren to see their portraits."