By Kelly Nix.
In most slums, congestion and salvaged building materials create a combustible mix that can level entire streets in the blink of an eye. In February 2013, while others were celebrating Valentine’s Day with chocolates, flowers and cards, a community in Valparaíso fled for their lives as an inferno claimed their homes – and their dreams – in an instant.
“Last February 14 was a day that families from the hills of Rodelillo and Los Placeres in the city of Valparaíso won’t forget,” shares Leopoldo Montecinos, communications coordinator for Children International in Chile. A fire broke out in the impoverished neighborhood spanning the two hillsides...and when its raging flames were finally extinguished, at least 220 families were homeless – among them were the families of 15 sponsored children.
CI staff went into action to provide essential supplies for the families, who were relocated to government shelters as they awaited more permanent housing. But among the many who responded selflessly to the needs of the victims was an unlikely heroine – a 16-year-old girl named Yaritza, an impoverished youth who participates in our program.
“Seeing people who are needy motivates me to help...Children International helps me...so I’ve got to lend a hand in return.” – Yaritza
It all unfolded just a few hundred yards from Yaritza’s house. “The tragedy of the fire was something atrocious for me,” she recalls. “There were flames and smoke all over the place; the sun looked red...people were screaming and trying to save their possessions...but it was impossible.”
Yaritza and her family hurried to help the victims as best they could. And later that same day, Yaritza and her mother, Berta, a CI volunteer, returned to the scene of the fire to help evaluate the needs of the families whose homes had been ravaged. As a first response, Yaritza’s family donated what they could of their own blankets, towels and supplies, including clothing that Yaritza’s mother had planned to sell at the market to help support the family. Then they assisted our staff members in planning a more coordinated response.
“I loved seeing the Children International agency director and staff at the scene of the fire, all of them in tennis shoes, climbing down the canyons to see the children and their families,” Yaritza recalls. “That made me very happy.”
For these children and other victims of the fire, Yaritza (center) is nothing short of a hero.
Yaritza is an active member of the Valparaíso agency’s Youth Council. “I love to help the people who need it most,” she explains. “Of all the things [the Youth Council does], what I like best is participating in community projects that provide direct help to the neediest people.”
Youth Council members learn about civic responsibility, community assistance and leadership. Ironically, the previous winter was one of the coldest in recent history for Valparaíso, and Yaritza and her fellow council members had provided blankets for the same families who later were devastated by the fire.
“Children International has taught me a lot of things that have influenced me for the better,” affirms Yaritza. “The first thing I’ve learned is to be a young leader and to help my neighbors when they need it. “Seeing people who are needy motivates me to help,” she adds. “I, too, feel a need – the need to help them. Children International helps me...so I’ve got to lend a hand in return.”
Photos and reporting assistance by Leopoldo Montecinos in Valparaíso, Chile.
