February 1, 2022 - February 14, 2022
Every Issue Complimentary Every Time
www.santaynezvalleystar.com
From hurricanes to humanitarian crisis: Local woman rescuing hundreds from Afghanistan Warrior Angels Rescue, which began as an effort to rescue her own family, has grown exponentially By Pamela Dozois
news@santaynezvalleystar.com
I
n 2017, Valerie Edmondson Bolaños stepped out of her comfort zone and threw herself into the Category 5 winds of Hurricane Maria, which devastated her home island of Puerto Rico, where her Photos contributed family members still lived. Since then, it is Valerie Edmondson Bolanos remarkable what one Solvang woman and her team of volunteers have accomplished. Edmondson Bolaños started a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and founded Warrior Angels Rescue in the immediate aftermath of that storm. What began as an effort to rescue her own family grew exponentially. The following year, her team airlifted residents affected by the 1/9 Montecito debris flow, and in 2020 responded to the international border
A passenger is shown being helped off one of the 155-seat evacuation flights, arranged by Valerie Edmondson Bolanos and her Warrior Angels Rescue team, from Puerto Rico to Miami in 2017
shutdowns at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, evacuating Americans stranded in Peru and other countries, such as Ecuador and Ghana. Warrior Angels Rescue is now evacuating
girls, women and their families from the humanitarian crisis that is escalating in Afghanistan after United States forces withdrew, leaving Americans and those who helped the U.S. for more
than 20 years stranded in the midst of a violent takeover. To date, Warrior Angels Rescue has secured safe harbor to evacuate more than 450 people from Afghanistan, mostly women and girls who were at a high risk of danger, and they are about to rescue 300 more. “Sometimes our darkest moments bring out a strength of purpose from within us,” said Edmondson Bolaños. “The eye of Hurricane Maria went straight through Humacao, the town where I was born and sliced right across Puerto Rico exiting through Dorado, the town where my family lives. “I knew I had to get my family off the island after I lost contact with them for 36 hours. When I did finally speak to my cousin, she had no idea of the scale of devastation that Maria had left in its wake. She had no clue that the entire island was completely without power. There was no communication at all. She had to climb to the top of a mountain to make cell phone contact with me. I just knew I had to evacuate them. That’s how it started and it just snowballed from there.” The seeds of her effort were planted when Edmondson Bolaños realized she had a couple of extra seats. “Once I figured out how to charter a plane, a six-seater, which was enough for my four family members, I didn’t want the two vacant seats to go to waste,” she said. “I went on social media askWARRIOR ANGELS CONTINUED TO PAGE 22
El Rancho Market
o
Skip the line! Our deli is offering swipeby curbside pickup. Get the app www.swipe.by - Easy mobile/no fees ordering
2886 Mission Drive • Solvang • 805-688-4300 • Open Daily 6am - 10pm • www.californiafreshmarket.com