The 13-year-old eldest sister used skills learned from her grandmother's game to help her siblings survive in the Amazon jungle, waiting for rescuers.
"When they play, they build little tents," Damaris Mucutuy, the aunt of four children who survived the Amazon jungle and were rescued by Colombian rescuers on June 9, told Caracol TV . "Lesly knows which fruits are edible, because there are many poisonous fruits in the jungle, and how to take care of a baby."
Lesly, 13, is the eldest of four Huitoto children who survived the May 1 plane crash in the Colombian Amazon. The other three are Soleiny, 9, Tien Noriel, 4, and Cristin, almost a year old. In addition to building a tent, Lesly also learned how to hunt through games she played with her grandmother and Soleiny.
After more than 50 days in the jungle, Colombian rescuers announced on June 9 that they had found the group of children. They were taken to a hospital in the capital Bogota in a very weak condition and are expected to stay there for at least two weeks.
“After the crash, the children took farina from the plane and survived on that,” Fidencio Valencia, the children’s uncle, told reporters outside the hospital. Farina is a cassava flour commonly used in the Amazon region. “After the farina ran out, they switched to eating grains.”
The timing is also a factor in the children's favor. Astrid Caceres, director of the Colombian Institute for Family Welfare, says "the forest is in harvest season" so they can find fruit to eat.
Babies are cared for by Colombian soldiers after being found in the forest on June 9. Photo: AP
“I am very grateful that the children were rescued,” said their grandmother Fatima Valencia. She said Lesly often looked after her younger siblings while their mother was at work, which also helped them survive. Fidencia Valencia, the four children’s grandfather, said the children were used to the jungle, adding that Lesly was very knowledgeable about survival in the jungle.
“They were raised by their grandmother,” said John Moreno, a leader in Vaupes, in southeastern Colombia, where the children were born and raised. “They used what they learned in the community, relying on their ancestors’ knowledge to survive.”
During the search, rescuers played Valencia’s recordings over loudspeakers from helicopters in several areas, reassuring the children that they would be fine if they stayed put while they waited to be rescued. Helicopters also dropped food boxes into the forest to supply the children and fired flares to support the searchers through the night.
One of four children who survived the Amazon rainforest is treated at a hospital in Bogota, Colombia on June 10. Photo: AFP
The Colombian military posted a photo on June 9 of soldiers and volunteers standing next to a group of children wrapped in blankets to keep them warm. General Pedro Sanchez, the commander of the rescue operation, said the children were about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the accident site, in a small, open area in the middle of the forest. He said they sometimes passed very close to the site, within 20 to 50 meters, but did not notice the children.
"They are very weak, just enough to breathe or reach for small fruits to eat or drink water," Mr. Sanchez described.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro also visited the children in hospital. He stressed that the success of the operation was due to the combination of knowledge from indigenous communities and the military.
Aunt Mucutuy said "the children are fine" despite dehydration and insect bites, adding that the children are being cared for mentally.
According to Ms Caceres, Colombian authorities have agreed with the children's relatives to allow "spiritual activities" in the forest and hospital, "if there are no urgent measures to be taken". Artists and musical instruments related to Huitoto culture are also allowed in the hospital.
“The jungle saved the children,” President Petro said. “They were children of the jungle, and now they are also children of Colombia.”
Nhu Tam (According to NY Post, AP )
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