Many say that the end justifies the means but I wonder whether this applies to raising money for the needy who have been neglected by society. Two recent charity campaigns widely advertised by the media in Bulgaria raise an interesting question about the place of morality in charity events.   

One of the campaigns has become something of a tradition in the past six years as the pet project of President Georgi Purvanov. When he took office in 2001 Purvanov came out with a nice idea about a Christmas charity campaign for children with health problems. His advisers deserve to be congratulated for the choice of name "Bulgarian Christmas" as if it’s an act of all Bulgarians, although some might argue how thousands of Muslims feel about it. But if we agree that charity has no religion then it should all be fine. The proof of the latter is the 12 million leva donated since the campaign was first held six years ago, making it the most successful charity campaign in Bulgaria.   

The bulk of the money has come from people who sent text messages or called landline numbers. Bank transfers and cash donations are also accepted and companies have also started donating large sums.

Lately, critics of the campaign, mainly political opponents of Purvanov, claim that many of the companies are "advised" that it would be "nice of them" to donate funds to the campaign so that it can accumulate more and more funds. Some even say that when people want to buy equipment for a particular hospital their donation is accepted but then put on the account of the Bulgarian Christmas campaign. And here comes the moral issue. Is it moral to, let’s say, "push businessmen a bit" to donate money when it’s for the sake of children in need? Judging by the campaign’s success so far it seems that people are not concerned about such issues as long as the money is spent in a transparent way, which nobody can deny.   

The other charity campaign aimed at children with medical problems is happening right now, broadcast live on one of the two national private TV channels. It is called VIP Brother, a version of the popular reality show Big Brother. Members of the VIP House are popular faces from Bulgaria’s so-called highlife, (singers, athletes, actors, musicians and even a politician).

All they do is ask viewers to send text messages so that money can be raised for the children. In return celebrities spend time in a luxury house with lots of food and drinks and every now and then take part in various games for which they are paid. Because of this many question the stars’ true desire to help because all they do is ask people to donate money while having fun and even being paid to do so. Others raise the point that by agreeing to sacrifice their time for more than a month and accepting the risk of being exposed to public attention almost 24 hours a day (there are no video cameras in the bathrooms) the "stars" have made their contribution. 

A more interesting issue is why a group of people has to be cordoned off for a month in order for viewers to donate money. So far the show has raised a million leva. This shows that Bulgarians are willing to donate but it seems they need to be pushed a bit. As for whether this push has to be in the form of a reality show is another question.