A plush panda, a 'China Leg' and a new love

In April, 28-year-old Ecuadorean Santiago Navarrete had his right leg amputated after being injured in a 7.8-magnitude earthquake. Thanks to Beijing-based international disaster relief NGO Pearl Humanitarian Rescue (PHR), he now wears a prosthesis. Navarette lost his leg, but found a new love for a far-flung country, reports Larry Lee in Quito, Ecuador.

Had she not been carrying a giant plush panda, Laura Mendez might have gone unnoticed as she walked past the presidential palace of Ecuador in Quito with her son, Santiago Navarrete, and their Colombian friend Nicolay Fonseca.

Fonseca is the Latin America representative for Pearl Humanitarian Rescue, a Chinese disaster relief NGO established in Beijing last year.

President Xi Jinping and his Ecuadorean counterpart Rafael Correa were meeting inside the palace. It was Nov 18 and, for the first time, a Chinese head of state was visiting Ecuador.

Seven months before, China had provided $2 million in emergency cash and 60 million yuan ($8.69 million) in humanitarian aid after the most devastating earthquake since 1949 hit Ecuador's northwest, claiming 673 lives and injuring more than 27,000, on April 16. Among the injured was 28-year-old Navarrete, a university student from Quito.

He was on vacation with his best friend in the small coastal town of Canoa, about 170 kilometers from Quito and close to the 7.8-magnitude quake's epicenter in Pedernales.

When it struck at about 6:58 pm, Navarette was showering after a swim in the sea. The hotel he was staying in collapsed, burying him and killing his friend.

He was found seven hours later, at about 3 am. But it wasn't until 7 am that he was freed from the rubble by Ecuador's national rescue team, led by Jose Serrano, minister of internal affairs, who coordinated the rescue efforts on site.

A military helicopter rushed him to a hospital in Quayaquil, the largest city in Ecuador, but his right leg was badly infected and had to be amputated.

Four days later, a nine-member medical team from PHR led by Xue Yu, its founder, arrived in Pedernales.

Using the experience they had gained from the Nepal earthquake last year, the team quickly established a base, distributed medication and provided food.

Serrano, the minister, was impressed with the way they coordinated different resources and negotiated with the disparate organizations on the scene, including branches of the UN.