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.
