07/16/2025
"No more than 600 feet from the bank of the Guadalupe River, Camp Mystic counselor Ainslie Bashara comforted a group of campers, all between 8 and 10, in the Giggle Box cabin.
The thunder cracked like fireworks and lightning lit the room like flashbulbs in the early morning. The 19-year-old counselor couldn’t sleep, braced for a frightened camper to slink over in need of comfort. She glanced at her watch: 1:58 a.m.
Rain spit sideways through the windows, so she and the other teens climbed onto beds to shut them until someone noticed water pooling in the cabin, spreading across the floor.
'Okay, we’re going to go out,' she told the girls around 3 a.m., and the counselor leaped outside first...'
Stunned by the cold, Ainslie caught her balance as her co-counselors inside kept the girls calm and coaxed them through the window. The pair eased the first girl out to Ainslie, then a second, then a third. All of them were crying. They clung to Ainslie — her arms, back, waist, hair — as the former dancer slogged through the current toward a dry pavilion about 30 yards away...
She dropped off the first set of campers, told them to wait, and returned to Giggle Box, repeating the trip until the cabin was empty. The counselors counted — 13, 14, 15, 16. All there...
They scrambled atop benches until the water reached those, too, and the counselors guided the group to the foot of a steep, rocky hill.
'Get ready to climb,' they told the girls, some of whom, like Ainslie, had forgotten their shoes. But they had to go, even as rain battered their faces. Ainslie felt like she was clambering up a waterfall.
Each time the river rose and they had to hike to a higher spot, the counselors counted their girls again: 16, 16, 16."
To read the entire harrowing account of how Ainslie and her two junior counselors courageously shepherded 16 young girls to safety during the horrific Texas floods on The Washington Post, visit https://wapo.st/4lvtraV
For an excellent book for kids on coping with upsetting events in the news, including natural disasters, we recommend "Something Bad Happened: A Kid's Guide to Coping With Events in the News" for ages 6 to 12 at https://www.amightygirl.com/something-bad-happened
For books for children and teens about courageous Mighty Girls living through disasters, both natural and man-made, visit our blog post "I Will Survive: 25 Mighty Girl Survival Stories" at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=32919
And to inspire children of all ages with hundreds of real-life and fictional stories starring courageous girls and women, visit our "Courage & Bravery" book section at https://amgrl.co/2IUVSzW
