On the eve of the best-loved day in Bulgaria - 24 May, Day of the Slavonic Alphabet, Bulgarian Enlightenment and Culture, it has become something of a tradition to single out the worthy Bulgarians. This is a category in which fall people who have accomplished a deed of heroism in peace time saving human lives or helping in a critical situation. This time, there were many more worthy Bulgarians than ever before. The venue of the award ceremony was filled to capacity with people who had come from all corners of the country. Attention was focused most of all on the volunteers who gave their time and effort freely during the flooding to save people, their homes and belongings. The story of each of these heroes is a model of valor and an inspiration for the future of the nation.

A total of 35 people were bestowed the award “Worthy Bulgarians” but there were many others who helped and supported them. One emblematic example is the story of Krassmir Andreev and his horse Aberdeen who rescued people in a village, submerged by the floodwaters of Toundja River. There was no one to tell him what to do when he saw the water coming. In the course of two days he never stopped helping to evacuate the people of the village and neither ate nor slept. “It is all in the human heart,” says Krassimir.

“Having rescuers with no thought for themselves means we are a wonderful nation. And this at a time of such economic constraints,” said at the ceremony Father Yordan Georgiev, priest at the St. Nikolay church in Assenovgrad and representative of the Plovdiv diocese.

“I was awarded in the “Worthy Bulgarians” campaign for the idea of organizing a soup kitchen for the poor. We started out in 2000 and irrespective of all difficulties every Sunday we have been cooking 300 meals. To begin with, it was financed by the church but then many people started donating money. Even now we have donations that will keep us going one month. We also have takeaway that keeps people going over the week and they are grateful. We have a group of women volunteers who come to the kitchen at 5 AM every Sunday morning. We are not the only ones to be doing this, there are other priests who have been doing volunteer work. This is one of the obligations of the Orthodox Church, even though charity was wiped out with during the communist years in Bulgaria. Now it is difficult to restore fully because people are poorer and have been donating less.”

Denislav Dimitrov is a young man from Silistra. During the flooding he found himself near a child engulfed by the turgid waters of the river. “I wanted the child I rescued to live and have a happy childhood,” he says and adds:

“It was something I shall never forget. On 25 May I saw a child crying for help. I dived in from the boat I was in and swam to the spot. The water was about three meters deep, I dived in and found the child. I pulled him out and performed CPR. I am a simple man, prizes and attention do not flatter me. After this incident I started seeing risks in a new light and to counsel the young to be very careful of the dangers lurking all around. I have a son of three and I would like to dedicate this award to him. I want him to grow up to be a worthy Bulgarian, because it is so very important that we are all good to one another and help each other,” says Denislav Dimitrov.

English version: Milena Daynova