Dr. Kusiak, during your first visit to Bulgaria in April 2005 you said you were impressed by your meetings with Bulgarian people and you were convinced in our wonderful future. What inspired this optimism?
This optimism was inspired by the followers of the Lions Movement in Bulgaria. We had a meeting with the President Mr. Parvanov and the fact that he supports the Lions charity initiatives assures me that your country has a future.

It is a great responsibility to lead such a huge organization with clubs in 197 countries around the world. What are the main missions your are carrying out and the challenges you tackled successfully?
As president of the Lions Clubs International Foundation I hope the members of Lions and Leo clubs in Bulgaria will participate actively in two of our initiatives. The aim of the first project, SightFirst, is to take preventive measures against blindness and help those whose sight can be restored. The second initiative is aimed at setting up a team of teachers, students, parents and Lions Clubs members to work for the better future of the young people. These are international initiatives, in which our members worldwide are engaged.

How do the Bulgarian Lions Clubs fit in the huge international family?
I assess the Bulgarian presence in the Lions Movement as very strong. Evidence for this is today’s initiative for admitting new Leo members, who being young people could much more easily tackle the problems of youth.

Which of the five components of the Lions motto “Liberty, Intelligence, Our Nation’s Safety” is hardest to achieve in the contemporary conditions of impetuous development of the nations?
The combination is important. It is no accident that the acronym LIONS designates these purposes, which are equally important and it is not up to us Americans to tell each country what is more important. Work should be done in the five lines simultaneously. We are a humanitarian non-governmental organization and we want to achieve these goals in society, regardless of any policy.

Do you set yourselves specific tasks with respect to Bulgaria and other smaller countries?
It is important to encourage wider participation in the Lions Movement, and thence we are ready to finance the initiatives of each member or each club individually.