7 How Did the Red Cross Start?

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 he was shocked. There were thousands of wounded men. Nobody was there to take care of them.

Dunant asked the people in the town to help the wounded men. Later, he wrote a book called A Memory of Solferino. 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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, more 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.