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El Salvador Red Cross volunteers save a girl from the rubble
Written by
Marlene de Viche
, Salvadorian Red Cross, Courtesy of the IFRC
Wednesday, October 12, 2005 — After four hours of continuous rain and unstable ground conditions, volunteers from the El Salvador Red Cross successfully managed to rescue Jennifer Vanessa Cerna, a five-year-old girl trapped in mud and rubbish after a brick building collapsed next to her home.
Jennifer suffered multiple fractures and was visibly in pain. Red Cross volunteers tried to keep her awake by talking to her about her brothers and sisters, her favorite comics and telling her the story of Little Red Riding Hood, which she had never heard before.
“We were trying to keep her awake”, says Ulises Contreras, one of the volunteers who helped rescue Jennifer, “people with multiple fractures suffer from intense pain and if they fall asleep, the possibilities of survival decrease. This factor made the situation even more worrying”.
Jennifer was about to leave her house when the brick building beside it collapsed. When rescuers found her, her small body was covered in mud and trapped from the waist down. Mobilizing machinery was considered too risky as the ground conditions were so unstable and, fortunately, rescuers were able to literally scoop Jennifer out of the mud.
Jennifer is now recuperating in hospital and doctors believe she will make a full recovery. Her future, however, seems more uncertain as she has lost her two brothers, aged three and five, and her home has been completely destroyed.
For many, Jennifer has turned into El Salvador’s symbol of hope – her rescue has brought optimism to people who have lost everything in the floods. Contreras – and the rest of the volunteers – are now considered anonymous heroes. Since the start of the disaster, Red Cross volunteers have been serving the most vulnerable day after day.
Contreras, like the majority of El Salvador’s Red Cross volunteers working in the Hurricane Stan operation, have been on the ground since the beginning of the emergency. They have also played a part in rescuing a three-year-old boy.
“Our greatest satisfaction is that of reaching the goal that we have been trained for: to save lives. I think there is no greater happiness than that of giving someone the opportunity of a new life or a second opportunity to live” says Contreras.
This article appears courtesy of the International Federation of Red Cross/Red Crescent Societies and the Salvadoran Red Cross.
A Note Regarding In-Kind Donations
Please remember that the American Red Cross is not able to accept small, individual donations or collections of items for emergency relief supplies. The decision to transport bulk donations from the U.S. is based solely on the needs identified by the relief operation and the availability of local resources. If you represent a company wishing to offer supplies in bulk, please contact your local Red Cross chapter.
You can help the victims of countless crises around the world each year, crises like the Myanmar Cyclone and China Earthquake, by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross International Response Fund, which will provide immediate relief and long-term support through supplies, technical assistance and other support to help those in need. The American Red Cross honors donor intent. If you wish to designate your donation to a specific disaster please do so at the time of your donation by either contacting 1-800-HELP NOW or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish), or mailing your donation with the designation to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, D.C. 20013 or to your local American Red Cross chapter. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org.
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