We celebrate 125 years since Dr. Tonka Toneva's birth

November 11, 2022 at 2:08 PM

Dr. Tonka Toneva was born on June 22, 1897 in Harmanli. Primary education ends in Turnovo Seimen /now Maritza /. He then studied in Varna at a girls' high school. She dreams of becoming a doctor, but her mother's capabilities do not reach a higher education institution and have to work. He started working as a teacher. But with the help of his uncle, who takes half of the maintenance, he began to study medicine.

In 1917 he left for Germany, Munich and thus fulfilled his dream. He meets with many Bulgarian students there, but remains briefly due to the fact that they cannot learn German in their environment quickly. He moved to Würsburg and graduated from the Faculty of Medicine and received a diploma on July 4, 1922.

In December of the same year she was appointed a school doctor in Sofia, and then in the village of Rakovski / now Dimitrovgrad / as a district doctor. With pleasure and youthful enthusiasm accepts work because he wants to work closer to his home.

After a while, a place for a doctor in the town of Kardzhali and on December 11, 1924, Dr. Tonka Toneva takes care of the health of the Kardzhali region.

She is the first female doctor at this backward end, head of the Regional Health Service. The road turns out to be difficult and long, it lasts 4-5 hours from Dimitrovgrad to Kardzhali by car-she tells herself in her memory, handed over to the State Archive (Yes)-Kardzhali /PM 139 /. It is accommodated in a nearby family of Slavcho Dobrujaliev - local authorities do not provide food and accommodation. Then there are few Bulgarian families in Kardzhali. After a while, he finds an apartment in a Turkish family, provided he will not accept men for inspection at the apartment.

The district laboratory is located near the mosque and has two small rooms with a finger plastered. Such are the conditions then. With a little practice and a lot of desire and in very bad hygiene conditions, Dr. Toneva begins.

They call it "Kuz Doctor"/girl doctor/. At that time, women gave birth to their homes with the help of old grandmothers because there were no maternity homes and seeking help from a doctor only as a last resort when it comes to saving the mother's life. In the outpatient clinic, everyone who comes. He says that Turkin women never come alone for examination, their husbands always take them. They also call her at the inspection homes.

You can read the whole story of Dr. Tonka Toneva [here] (https://blsbg.com/en/download/file/page-section/22679).

Source: Quo vadis