The National Theatre Ivan Vazov opened an exhibition on Monday of 32 photographs called People's Faces, initiated by the Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC).

"The idea for the exhibition was hatched in connection with the celebration of the ISC's birthday and the presentation of what has been achieved by the NGOs," said Vladimir Galabov, communications coordinator for the ISC. He added that this would be the only way to portray the people they had met in their travels over the summer.

Last summer, American writer Doug Wilhelm, together with photographer Todor Tzvetkov, travelled around the country and documented various people in pictures and stories. The outcome of the trip was the leaflet Guiding Light which concentrated on 32 real stories from cities, towns and villages across Bulgaria, where citizen organizations were doing their work.

"An abundance of examples offered by the contribution of individuals and NGOs for the sustenance of a civil society in Bulgaria is conveyed by a selection of 32 photographs or stories, but of course it does not show the whole picture," said Jane Williams-Grube, country director of ISC.

The American non-governmental organization ISC is working with the NGO sector for a seventh year now, with the help of the Democratic Network (DemNet) program financed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Galabov explained that the ISC is an independent, non-profit organization that helps communities in existing and emerging democracies solve problems while building a better future for themselves and the world.

"We give communities, and the organizations that support them, the training, advice, and grants they need to solve their own problems and shape their own destinies long after our work with them is finished," Galabov said. The ISC focuses on environmental, economic, and social concerns, and on the need to address all three to succeed.

The exhibition at Ivan Vazov, along with the rest of the projects held by the ISC, serves to show how successful the work has been. "We involve different groups of people within a community, from the most to the least powerful, to encourage fair and lasting sustainable results, Williams-Grube said on Monday.

She commented that all the pictures on display were similar to a talking movie and made society aware of how much people could actually achieve together. "We thought up a natural way to report on what has been accomplished. We wanted to show the existence of people," she said.

One of the stories talks about attempted rape victim Kossa Vangelova, a primary school director in Gorna Oriahovitsa, who has been assisted by the Centre Maria, which is supported by DemNet. She speaks out and shows her face to make people aware of one of society's more harrowing problems.

The exhibition runs until Sunday.