The local Red Cross group in Sant Joan d’Alacant has presented the book “Responde, now and forever”, an anthology of stories, written by about fifteen volunteers, about the moments they lived during this health and social crisis.
The distribution of food, care for the elderly, homeless, or who arrived by boat, were the main tasks of these volunteers during the worst moments of the pandemic, a situation that multiplied the need of the most vulnerable.
Rosa Serrano, a volunteer in Sant Joan and one of the people who has participated in the book, points out that “the most impressive thing was to see the number of people who came to the Red Cross to request food and the amount of food that was distributed so much to the most needy and elderly people who could not leave home. “
Her most shocking experience was seeing how a mother with three children who had lost her job came crying saying that she had an empty fridge. He assures that it was very hard but that with the work of the volunteers a great job was done in Sant Joan. Now, he highlights that attention has returned to pre-pandemic levels.
“It is a book that has a lot of value and in which it is shown how gratifying it is to help people and contribute a little bit of your time to them,” he declares.
For his part, Antonio Marcelo, a volunteer who worked in the field hospital with the people who arrived in boats and who was also caring for the homeless, admits that he was “afraid” in those moments when “the vaccines “but emphasizes that it was never necessary to ask for support from more volunteers.
In fact, it stands out that many people have signed up as volunteers during the pandemic, something that shows the solidarity of the citizens of Alicante.
For him, his most striking experience was the one that took place in the Ciudad Jardín sports center, converted into a temporary shelter at Christmas for people who slept on the street. “I am left with that feeling of home that there was despite the cold,” he says.
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