Forty Days Miraculous Survival Of Four Children In Colombian Jungle

Forty Days Miraculous Survival Of Four Children In Colombian Jungle

By: Kabir Babatunde, FRCN Legal Department

1. Colombian mother and her four children aged 13, 9, 4, and 1 were on board a light aircraft when it crashed in May this year, killing the mother and two other adults including the pilot.

The children survived the accident and went on to spend forty days stranded in the jungle before they were finally rescued in June after a group of indigenous people who had been searching on foot found the children and alerted the Colombian Army.

The Army then rushed to the location and airlifted the children to a military hospital in Bogotá where they were treated for – dehydration and malnourishment.

They are to remain in the Child Welfare Institute until final custody arrangements would be decided by the end of the year. The children spent the first four days of their odyssey- at the site of the crash.

But after running out of food and water they had brought on the plane, they decided to wander in the vast jungle, hoping to find a creek that would lead them to a river or a nearby village.

When her younger siblings cried because of cold, tiredness, weariness and hunger, the thirteen year old ripped a piece of fabric taken from her late mother’s clothes to cover and protect her siblings from the cold.

She – rationed the content of a baby bottle to feed her two youngest siblings When she lost the bottle, she made a makeshift feeder device out of plant leaves and filled it with water, She also foraged seeds as well as fruits in the rainforest to sustain her siblings and herself.

She also made shelters with items she found in the jungle. She was quoted as saying that although she was in shock after the crash, she was unafraid and unfazed as all she could think about was getting out of the jungle with her siblings.

She had become very weak, had delirious episodes, lost consciousness, and regained it afterwards, she barely had any strength left but kept going, and it was reported that help came just before the children were about to give up.

The fact that the 13-year-old never despaired is a testament to her resilience and determination to keep herself and her siblings alive. Mercifully, the children never encountered dangerous animals in their odyssey.

When the children were found, their initial inhibitions were tempered by the expectation of reunion with their family.

The children’s indigenous upbringing was credited to their ability to survive 40 difficult days in the Colombian jungle.

Such upbringing enables them to recover from life’s challenges by dealing with self- generated shortcomings occasioned by circumstances beyond their control.

It took the Grace of God, unbelievable bravery, and dogged perseverance of the children to withstand the adversity of the Colombian jungle.

As the children grapple with a new reality, it is expected that their miraculous survival would be a reference lesson in the human ability to persevere in the face of life’s setbacks and obstacles.

The troubles of life can be daunting and in dealing with them, mortals should be determined.

People who easily give up during trying times should borrow the exceptional courage of the Colombian children, remembering the phrase, tough times never last, but tough people do.

Edited By Grace Namiji