South American Division

Man Rescues His 74-Year-Old Father From Neighbor's Roof in Rio Grande do Sul

Family shares how they are dealing with losses after flooding in Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil.

July 7, 2024

Brazil

Emanuele Fonseca, South American Division, with ANN Staff

Carol, Leandro and their two children: Pedro Henrique and João Vitor. The family lost everything in the flood in Canoas

(Photo: Personal archive)

Carol Onofrio, a resident of Canoas in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, was surprised by the news that water would enter her house. Even though it had been a week with a lot of rain, the woman did not believe it, as this had never happened before.

Her husband, Leandro Nascimento, had already put up some furniture, and Onofrio continued working on her computer. A few minutes passed, water began to gush from the drains, and her neighborhood began to flood. “It was a war zone. We could hear helicopters, we could hear Civil Defense trucks telling us to evacuate,” Onofrio says.

Nascimento managed to talk to his neighbor, who had a truck because they could no longer leave by car. He put Onofrio and the children in the truck and went back to try to save his 74-year-old parents. When he got to the house, he urged them to leave as quickly as possible.

His mother quickly grabbed a backpack with her essential belongings, but his father said he wouldn’t leave. Nascimento says he was devastated, but there was nothing he could do at that moment. “Then he gave me a hug, and I said, thank you very much for being my father for 50 years, and I left with my mother to go to my friend’s house, who welcomed my whole family,” says Nascimento.

Kayak Rescue

The next day, Nascimento was unable to contact his father. He says that, unfortunately, he was already expecting the worst. That's when he borrowed a kayak and paddled about 1.2 miles (2 km) through his neighborhood looking for his loved one.

The son could hardly believe it when he saw his father on top of a slab. He was alive! It was impossible to contain his emotion. The water reached his neck and the elderly man began to swim, until the neighbor helped him up to the terrace, where 20 other people were waiting to be rescued.

Nascimento says that at that moment his throat got choked up and he couldn’t believe the miracle he was experiencing. “I entered my neighborhood rowing and people asked me for help, but I couldn’t help because I was going to get my father. It was crazy, a very bad experience, but at the same time I was very happy because I was able to rescue him,” he shares.

Carol and Leandro's house a few days after the flood in Canoas - RS

Finally, the family was reunited, but the wait was just beginning. They waited until May 25th, when the water had receded a little. Then, Onofrio and Nascimento returned by boat to see what condition their house was in and to see if they could still save anything.

“I usually say that it was the worst day of our lives, because we saw reality head on. We bought our own clothes because the water was contaminated, we arrived by boat and went over the gate. When I went inside, I saw that it was no longer our home, everything was destroyed; it was a pile of garbage with a strong smell,” says Onofrio.

Cleaning Time

A few days later, the water finally receded and the couple needed to start cleaning up. But how would they do it alone? Onofrio posted on her social media asking if anyone would be available to help them.

She works for a large technology company and has been working for one of the Adventist institutions since November 2021. Claudevandro Araújo is the IT manager and an employee at the administrative headquarters of the Adventist Church in southern Rio Grande do Sul. He had already discussed work issues with his wife, but that day his contact was different. He offered to help clean the house with other office employees.

On June 5, five employees from the Rio Grando do Sul Conference came to help clean up and remove the waste from what was left. “That team came here and brought us incredible hope. They rolled up their sleeves as if they had known us for years. They cleaned our house, and things started to get clearer. Before there was black sludge, chemical residue, and the stench of sewage, and they came and cleaned it with joy on their faces; they were angels,” emphasizes Onofrio.

Employees of the South Rio Grande Association who helped clean the house

Even in the face of pain and loss, Onofrio and Nascimento found the strength to move forward, valuing what really matters: love and family unity. The woman from Rio Grande do Sul reports how this experience changed the way she sees the world.

“Today I see that we spend our whole lives acquiring and saving to have things and we stop living, stop being with people. Every time we get home to sleep after a day of work, we have to be thankful. Because many things can happen overnight,” he reflects.

She continues by saying that she cannot romanticize what happened, but in her heart she is grateful for having gone through such a challenging situation. “This ordeal has made me a completely different human being than I was before. I wish everyone had the opportunity, not to go through a tragedy, but to give new meaning to their lives. We have to ask ourselves: Why are we here? What mission has God given us?” Onofrio concludes.