Dobri Dobrev lives on the outskirts of Sofia, Bulgaria. He’s the kind of man that most people might cross the road to avoid. Wearing home made clothes and avoiding the razor he looks at first glance like he might be a maniac and/or smell of wee.
In fact, Dobrev is the sort of person the world could do with more of.
His father died in WWI and during the bombing raids of WWII he lost the majority of his hearing.
He walks many kilometres each day to stand outside the Cathedral of Alexander Nevsky in Sofia and collect money.
So what’s so amazing about this beggar? Well, the money he collects from strangers doesn’t go to feed himself. He receives a meager state pension and that does him just fine. All the cash he gathers he passes straight on to charity; and he’s been doing this for years.
He is now 100 years old and is known by many in the area as The Saint of Bailovo. He lives an ascetic lifestyle as a hermit in a humble home away from the trappings of modernity.
It’s estimated that he’s collected over 40,000 Euros for the restoration of monasteries and children’s homes for orphans over the years.
Puts us to shame doesn’t it? I’ll leave you with a quote from the good man:
The good will is just and true. Everything in it is good. We must not lie, nor steal, nor commit adultery. We must love each other as God loves us.
