Colombia made world news on June 9 when it was announced that four children wanted in the jungle had turned up alive after the plane they were traveling in crashed on May 1.

Mother Lesly Jacobombaire Mucutuy, 13; Soleiny Jacobombaire Mucutuy, 9; Tien Ranoque Mucutuy, 4; and baby Cristin Ranoque Mucutuy died, as did the pilot and indigenous leader traveling with them.

How did four children manage to survive 40 days in the Amazon jungle? Dozens of articles have been written on this topic. Spokesman Pedro Arnulfo Sánchez Suárez told CNN that the minors ate “three kilograms (six pounds) of fariña,” cassava flour used by indigenous tribes in the region, which they carried on board, and that when they were done, they walked in search of food and shelter.

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Experts confirm that the knowledge they had about the jungle was vital, about what could and could not be eaten, as well as the search for water. Amazonian native children knew survival tactics, even if they didn’t specifically call it that name.

It is not often that one thinks about accidents or that a child or an adult could get lost in the conditions of the jungle, in the mountains or in volcanic areas, but it happened and the experience of the Colombian children should make us think about how prepared one can be. for a similar event.

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Scout groups, which exist in Ecuador although their distribution is reduced, have among their various training programs some that are useful. In the youth spaces that the army developed with civilians, survival training was also held.

The Risk Management Secretariat together with the Ministry of Education could develop population training plans and expand information dissemination campaigns to prepare citizens for emergencies involving earthquakes, landslides and unforeseen situations in the middle of mountains, jungles or other disasters. (OR)