“Little Big Heroes”: Minister Demerdzhiev Honours Children and Young People Who Helped After Strumyani Floods

“Little Big Heroes” is a new initiative by the Ministry of the Interior. “Little Big Heroes” is a new initiative by the Interior Ministry. The idea is to honour children and teenagers who have shown courage and a sense of civic responsibility. At the first ceremony, held today, September 8, young people who helped after the floods in Strumyani were honoured, as were others who helped expose a man posing as a police officer. The initiative aims to highlight positive examples against the backdrop of acts of violence.

The youngest volunteer to receive an award was just 7 years old.

Photo: BTA

Vladislav Stoyanov: “I just called my dad and told him where it was and what the situation was, and he said, ‘It’s bad.’ So I told him I wanted to go help him. I helped with the shovel; I dug with the shovel.”

BNT: How important is it to be kind and to help others?

Vladislav Stoyanov: “It’s very, very important!”

For the tremendous help they provided after the flooding in Strumyani municipality a week ago, Vladi’s father, Stoyan, was also honoured for setting a good example, along with the young men Nikolay Gutev, Hristo Avramski, Martin Hristov, Borislav Atanasov and Genadi Tanev.

Photo: BTA

Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev presented the awards, acknowledging that some people may have been left out.

Ivan Demerdzhiev, Minister of the Interior: “There are certainly others who, unfortunately, have remained unknown, but today we salute them as well. Every young person who has decided to help in such a situation deserves respect.”

Hristiyan Kochev, Viktor Karushev, Aleksandar Vakov and Andriyan Krastev, meanwhile, had to become detectives for a day. As BNT was the first to report, their help led to the arrest of a man who had been posing as a police officer. In fact, he had been robbing minors and was in possession of drugs. The remarkable story took place in Sunny Beach.

Viktor Karushev: “That was when I saw him taking some things from the wallets and putting them in his pocket, but there was nothing I could say because he might have been armed, so it was better to cooperate.”

After robbing the teenagers of their wallets, the fake police officer disappeared, but the young investigators tracked him down through a TikTok story.

Hristiyan Kochev: “Because Viki is from the area, he recognised where the hotel was. I wasn't there when the robbery happened, but the police called me in to make sure it was him.”

Andrian Krastev: “I was very scared because they were on their own. He could have been armed, and it really was a frightening situation.”

In addition to receiving awards, the young men now want to work in the Ministry of Interior. Viktor wants to become a detective, Hristiyan wants to work for the General Directorate for Combating Organised Crime (GDCOC), and Andy wants to become a firefighter.