SCHOOL PUPILS IN THE US will be able to learn about one of the 9/11 heroes as part of lessons on character development.
SCHOOL PUPILS IN THE US will be able to learn about one of the 9/11 heroes as part of lessons on character development.Twin Towers rescuer Welles Crowther, an equities trader who was more interested in people than profits, has become a hero across the USA.
Crowther was identified by those he rescued as having a “red bandanna” over his face against the heavy smoke. He was last seen alive rescuing others with members of New York’s fire department until the South Tower collapsed.
His selfless actions will live on as part of a classroom curriculum for character development, according to reports in USA Today, Breaking Christian News and CNN.
Welles, who always carried a red bandanna given by his fireman father, was a 24-year-old equities trader on the 104th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Centre. He was also a volunteer fireman.
On September 11 2001, following the terror attack on the building, he spent his final minutes performing the actions of a hero. He gave first aid, helped put out fires and assisted people down the stairs so they could escape.
Survivor Ling Young later told the media network ESPN, “All of a sudden we saw a young man come out of nowhere, we heard this man’s voice say, ‘I’ve found the stairs, follow me and only help the one you can help’. It was the way he said it. We just got up and followed.”
The Welles Remy Crowther Charitable Trust, supported by the Fetzer Institute, has created the Red Bandanna Project. Lesson plans and teacher’s guide help classes, sports teams, camps and youth programmes learn about love and forgiveness.
The young man’s story was the subject of an award-winning ESPN documentary. Also based upon Welles’ story, the Fellowship Of The Red Bandanna and its website were established in 2003 to motivate Christians “to rescue men and lead them to the safety of the cross of Christ”.
Welles’ mother Alison told USA Today, “We took great peace in knowing that (Welles) didn’t suffer and that, up until the end, he was being very courageous, doing what he wanted to do. So he must have felt very fulfilled that day, knowing he was helping others”.
The Red Bandanna came to Europe recently. A special walk took place during the Global Gathering, a conference presented by the Fetzer Institute last September in Assisi, Italy.
No fewer than 500 leaders from around the world took part in the event, which looked at examples of love and forgiveness in a bid to learn how underlying principles can be taught to others.
Examples included community leaders using forgiveness to heal wounds in war-torn Uganda and grassroots activists “paying it forward” with compassion and service to bridge racial divisions in inner-city Chicago.