Mountaineer Alfa Karina Arrué Valle, athlete from the Effort and Glory Program of the National Sports Institute of El Salvador (INDES), received the Grand Scouts Atlacatl Order on Saturday from the National Court of Honor of the Scouts Association of El Salvador .
The Great Atlacatl Order is the highest distinction that the Association grants to one of its members in recognition of their service to the youth, to society and to the homeland.
“It is an incredible honor to be here, when the letter arrived I cried with emotion, because this group marked my life from my childhood, I believe that the love for nature and the mountains, for the walks were born in the scout group… My Dad was a scout, my children are also scouts and we have that tradition in the family,” said Alfa Karina, who recalled some of her anecdotes as a scout in group 20, from El Cafetalón in Santa Tecla, of which she was a part from the age of eight to the 13 years
On May 11, 2022, Alfa Karina wrote her name in sports history as the first Salvadoran person to reach the top of Mount Everest, which is the highest point on the planet with an altitude of 8,848.86 meters above sea level.
“Everything I have done in the mountains and since I set myself the challenge of climbing Everest, I always had the goal of serving as an inspiration for girls, for the new generations and for all my compatriots and for them to realize what we are capable of, to dream big and make everything we set out to come true”, Arrué emphasized.
The general director of INDES, René Martínez, was present at the ceremony, who, on behalf of the ad honorem president, Yamil Bukele, reiterated his support for the athlete.
“From the moment Alfa Karina came to tell us about her projects and her dreams, INDES and the ad honorem president, Yamil Bukele, believed in her and were one hundred percent sure that she was capable of achieving it and here she is. her after having conquered Everest and a couple of months after conquering K2”, said Martínez.
The decoration was made by members of the National Court of Honor. Estela de Cedillos, secretary, presented her with the medal of the Great Atlacatl Order, while Pedro Martínez, vice president, presented the mountaineer with the national scarf and Néstor Iraheta, president, presented her with the respective diploma.
“We are gathered to thank and recognize the effort of Alfa Karina, she was able to fight without fear of injury, as our scout unit prayer says, and she conquered the top of Everest. Now our youth have a heroine on which to base their symbolic framework. Alfa Karina joins those Salvadoran scouts who fill this movement with great pride,” said Iraheta.
“The Great Atlacatl Order is given to Alfa Karina for the value she has had throughout her personal and sporting journey, it goes without saying, as a scout. As she said, she got the taste of mountaineering while she was a scout member of Group 20, that’s why they are here”, said Gabriela Bado, president of the National Scout Council