First of all, I would like to thank each and every one of the volunteers who have come to help in Valencia, and all those who have contributed food, hygiene products and clothing, because without that help we would not have been able to survive; the disaster has been of such magnitude that it has swept everything away, taking lives. Having said that, I would like to explain the situation for which I am asking for help so that this family can return to their home.

On 29 October, just like any other day in his daily life, Jhony finished work at his digital telemarketing company, which he had opened a couple of years earlier. His life was peaceful with his wife, who was eight months pregnant, and his three-year-old son; they lived on the ground floor in Alfafar, in a lovely little house. He had two cars and a van, and half his life tied up in a mortgage, like almost everyone who wants to get ahead in life. At around 7.30 pm on that 29th of October, he arrived home in a state of panic because the ravine had burst its banks. He went inside and told his wife that the ravine had burst its banks, that water was coming towards the street where they were. His wife looked out the door and saw a wall of water sliding down the street. She closed the door and told her husband to move their belongings as high up as he could so they wouldn’t get wet. She laid some towels on the floor of the hallway to block the way, but the water began to come in. His wife started to get nervous with the little one in her arms, whilst her husband was rushing back and forth across the house. The water began to come in in a very strange way; it was about 40 or 50 cm deep when his wife’s waters broke, so he lifted his wife onto the marble table, laid some blankets down, and his wife and son sat there whilst he called the emergency services. It must have been around 7.45 pm and the water was already up to his knees, his son and his wife started crying whilst he tried to get through to the emergency services; the water kept coming in; the front door burst open; he put two chairs on top of the table as the water was already reaching his waist whilst the current ripped the bedroom doors off their hinges and swept everything away in its path; by around 8.30 pm, there was 1.5 metres of water in his house; it was up to their knees as they sat on the table. His wife was in labour, and there they were, the three of them on a table that must have weighed about 100 kilos, all three sitting with the water up to their waists, the furniture banging against the table and making it move, the baby was crying and his wife was having contractions, so he plunged into the water and smashed the dining room windows. For six hours his wife remained on the table with a chair propped up, waist-deep in water and in labour. At around 4 am they arrived in a Zodiac to rescue them; the baby was born in the Zodiac, as his mother had been holding on for two hours to avoid giving birth. The baby was in hospital for 10 days; she had a serious infection, but has now recovered. They are living with neighbours as they have been left homeless, jobless and penniless, yet they still have to keep paying off their loans, with no income whatsoever, so my appeal is for this wonderful family who have fought for their lives, like so many others affected by this terrible disaster. Thank you very much for your support.

Aid isn’t getting through and the consortium is overwhelmed, so it is urgent that we help this family; they need our support. Thank you very much,