How Did the Red Cross Start?

1 In 1859 , a Swiss man named Henry Dunant went to Italy. He went There on business There was a war in the town of Solferino . Dunant saw The war and the he shocked There were thousand of wounded men Nobody was there to take care of them.

2 Dunant asked the people in the town to help the wounded men Later, he wrote a book called A Memory of Slferno. He had a good idea To help people in wars. He wanted every country to have volunteers. The Volunteers take care of the wounded people in wars.

3 In 1863 , Dunant and four other Swiss men started the Red Cross A year later, twelve countries signed a paper in Geneva , Switzerland. Dunant traveled to other countries He wanted to make the Red Cross Bigger and better all over the world .

 

4 By now , Dunant was famous . But his own business had problems His business had no money . Some people in Geneva were angry because They lost money , too Dunant resigned from the Red Cross .Now he had No money and no home . He slept in the streets and had nothing to eat . For twenty years, he lived on different streets in Switzerland . In 1890, a Teacher found him in a Swiss village . the teacher told everybody that Dunant was alive. But nobody cared.

5 Dunant became very sick He went to a hospital for the poor in the Town of Heiden. Dunant stayed in the same room for eighteen years It Was Room 12 . In 1895, a journalist found him and wrote about him Then Dunant became famous again. People gave him prizes and money But Dunant stayed in Room 12

6 Dunant died in 1910 There was no funeral ceremony . He wanted Everything to be simple. Dunant gave his money to the hospital workers. He also gave money for a “free bed” in the hospital. This “ free bed” was For the poor sick people of Heiden. 7 The symbol of the Red Cross is a red cross on a white flag . It is the Reverse of the flag of Switzerland. Muslim countries have a red crescent . A crescent looks like a half-moon Today, than 170 countries are Part of the Red Cross and Red Crescent. The volunteers help people in Many ways. Everybody remembers Henry Dunant and his good idea.