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Larchmont Chronicle Neighborhood newspaper representing Hancock Park, Larchmont Village
Miracle Mile, Park La Brea Fremont Place in the Wilshire center area of Los Angeles. Local News and
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Hancock Park area. Founded in 1963 on Larchmont Bouelvard, Los Angeles, CA, California

March 5, 2010

FREMONT PLACE RESIDENT TRAVELS TO HAITI

Suzan Filipek

HAPPY STORY to come out of Haiti. Above interpreter Deiby Celestino and Robert Penfold with Winnie.

When the earthquake struck in Haiti, journalist Robert Penfold, Fremont Place, booked a plane the same night and reached devastated Port-au-Prince the next day with a camera man and interpreter by his side.

The trio for Nine Network Australia TV were waiting to interview an aid worker at Save the Children Fund when locals said a baby was heard crying from beneath the rubble nearby. Past broken down houses and sheets of tin they came upon men who were pointing to where the sound came from—under layers of concrete that probably gave way when the Jan. 12 quake hit almost three days earlier.

“It was gut-wrenching,” says Penfold, who remembered thinking at the time that there was nothing they could do.

But after days of “tragedies and sadness and dead bodies… to hear this baby” gave them hope, and interpreter Deiby Celestino, a short, agile man, felt confident he could somehow squeeze into the rubble and started to dig.

Neighbors lent a sledge hammer and Celestino smashed into what looked like a kitchen cabinet, as the cries continued from below. He also worked around a dead body—believed to be the girl’s father—until he made headway, creating an opening. Seeing the light, the 18-month old girl crawled to the opening, when Celestino “grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her out,” said Penfold.

Except for a few scratches and dirt, “she was fine, it was extraordinary. “She wasn’t afraid. She just stared at us, [as if to say,] ‘What took you so long,’” Penfold said.

They poured water over the child who had been covered in dust, and took her to the Save the Children non-profit, and she was soon reunited with relatives, including her grandmother.

Penfold stayed a total of 10 days in the devastated Caribbean country at CNN’s headquarters, a hotel in the center of the capital with intermittent water and power. He encouraged people to continue to donate to such groups as doctorswithoutborders.com. Upon his return to the neighborhood, where he lives with his wife Shar and three children, he raised $650 at a Super Bowl party for rescue efforts.

“This tragedy will impact the people of Haiti for years to come,” said Penfold.

Larchmont Chronicle
542½ North Larchmont Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90004

Editor & Publisher: Jane Gilman
Associate Publisher: Irwin Gilman

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