(NAPSA)—With all the sad stories of conflict and desperation from around the world, it can be heartening to hear of loved ones reunited. Here are just two of the happy examples: Lydia spent months wondering if her daughter Odette was alive. Conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo forced Lydia to seek asylum in the US., leaving her far away from her family and with a heavy heart. With the help of the Red Cross, Lydia located her daughter and sent her a message through the Restoring Family Links (RFL) program. Odette responded to her mom—she was indeed alive. “I don’t know how the Red Cross managed to connect me with someone whoI thought was dead. ‘There wasno other wayfor meto talk to her. There was no other way.’ Conflict in Burundi forced Fidele to flee and lose touch with his loved ones, including his father. After living in Tucson, Arizona, for some time, he connected with the Red Cross RFL program to open up a search for his father to help give him peace of mind. American Red Crosser Elissa Maish (left) uses a Red Cross phonetocall Lydia’s daughter Odette after Lydia spent months not knowing whether Odette wasevenalive. How It Works Red Cross Restoring Family Links services are free and confidential and help reconnect loved ones when: 1. Families are separated as result of disaster, migration or other humani- tarian emergency. 2. Families have already tried normal channels of communication to reconnect. Armed conflict, international disas- 3. The family member making the inquiry is able to provide essential information on the sought person. 4. The family member making the inquiry is a relative who had been in direct contact with the sought person before the crisis occurred. network, Red Cross and Red Crescent For more info, to help the Red Cross After months of searching, Fidele finally received the welcome message: Hisfather was alive and well. ters and migration leave millions of people around the globe in urgent need of humanitarian assistance every year. As the world’s largest humanitarian teams help reconnect families separated by internationalcrises. Learn More or to ask for help, go to www.redcross. org/international.
