B o d a j k – How should an aid worker act in emergency situations? Fifty Baptists from six countries simulated emergency situations in theory and practice during a six-day training session in Hungary at the end of April. They will be forming the “Rescue24” international rescue team under the auspices of the Baptist World Association’s relief agency BWAid (Falls Church near Washington) and will be employed in crises situations throughout the world. The training sessions were organised by the Hungarian Baptist HBAid (Budapest) relief agency and held in the town of Bodajk. Doctors, paramedics, dog leaders, technical rescue specialists and logistics experts from Australia, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Singapore and the USA learned how best to conduct themselves in emergency situations. How to act in high-stress situations such as kidnappings and terror attacks was practiced.

On the final day, the participants were required to apply their new knowledge to simulated disaster situations. One scenario assumed that a strong earthquake had occurred in the vicinity. The specialists set up a camp with mobile kitchen and infirmary tent and transported them through a flood-swollen river. Fifteen minutes after the „catastrophe“, the first helpers arrived. They rescued 11 “injured”, stabilised their health and carried them to the infirmary for further treatment. Another simulated “accident” followed. An airplane crashed into a lake; all three passengers were injured. Divers rescued them from the sinking aircraft. When finally returning to their base camp and all believed the exercise to be over, their convoy was attacked by “terrorists”, who kidnapped an American, Australian and Hungarian. Only after tedious negotiations were the hostages finally released.

HBAid-President Sandor Szenczy and Rescue Commander Laszlo Pavelcze stated:  “We had a hard but fun week that served well to bring people together for the common good of rescuing people after natural disasters, and above all, to advance the kingdom of God in extrtemely difficult situations.”