The 28-year-old Serbian firefighter Georgios Vukicevic was in Thessaloniki and Mount Athos for a few hours, invited by the Greek Fire Service of Thessaloniki and the fraternity of the Holy Monastery of Chilandari on Mount Athos. Georgios Vukicevic recently became known around the world when he picked up the armband that Ronaldo threw on the field and used it to save a six-month-old baby.
The hero – firefighter instead of keeping the armband as a souvenir or sell it for his own benefit, used it to raise money for the treatment of a six-month-old baby, little Gabriel from Serbia, who suffers from spinal muscular atrophy, a treatment for which an astronomical amount of 2.5 million euros is required.
Speaking to ANA-MPA, the young firefighter noted that when he saw Ronaldo move the armband, the first thing he thought of was to help little Gabriel. He had no doubt that this was what he had to do. The armband was sold for 7.5m dinars – about 63,000 euros – at an open electronic auction held in Serbia for charity.
Award from the Monastery of Chilandari
The young firefighter was looking forward to his visit on Friday afternoon and Saturday at Mount Athos, after being awarded for his charity at a special event at the City Hall of Thessaloniki, on Thursday night from the Monastery of Chilandari (the so-called “Serbian” monastery of the Athonite state).
“This commendable act shone on all of us as a shining example of love, but also of victory of life”, noted Archimandrite Methodius, abbot of the Holy Monastery of Chilandari.
