Canoa

Four days from today, I leave for Ecuador to help the victims of the earthquake. As you hopefully know by now, Ecuador was hit with a 7.8 magnitude earthquake last Saturday that has left many towns with absolutely nothing. As someone whose entire family is from Ecuador, I’ve spent countless summers there, from which I’ve made a lifetime of memories. It breaks my heart to see my country the way it is now. It’s crazy to think that one minute everything is normal, and then the Earth’s plates decide to shift, and subsequently destroy thousands of lives within minutes.

After seeing the destruction the earthquake caused, and hearing my countrymen’s cries for help, I felt a calling from my heart to go to Ecuador and help with the victims of the earthquake. I’ve spoken to family and friends who know people going into the smaller cities to help as much as they can. I’m leaving this coming Wednesday for Ecuador, and I’ll be volunteering in my own city, Guayaquil. During the time I’ll be in Guayaquil, most of the clothes and food are being gathered and prepped for distribution to smaller cities which have suffered even more devastating damage and loss of human life than some of the larger cities have experienced. Some of these smaller cities, such as Portoviejo, Pedernales, and Canoa, are places that have been hit the worst. I intend to also go to one of these cities for two or three days to offer aid. However, at the moment, it’s unclear which city I’ll be in exactly because I really need to get there to mobilize myself and see which cities my friends are heading to during that time.

Ecuador is in serious need of help. They lack the most basic of human necessities, such as food, medicine and water. There are bodies piled up in the streets because there are not enough caskets to bury the dead, and very sadly, I’ve been told that many cities now “smell like death” because of the decaying bodies and the lack of both an infrastructure and resources to bury them both safely and with dignity. Many of the survivors are now being transported to Guayaquil. The families that are still in these smaller cities need your help! If you could spare even a few dollars to the GoFundMe page I’ve created, please don’t hesitate—this is truly a situation where every cent is needed and will go to help an incredible country and its citizens who are hurting and suffering very deeply. If you can’t donate, please share the link with your friends. I leave this Wednesday, April 27th, in the early morning. Prior to leaving, I’ll be makming a trip to Walmart on Tuesday night to buy many supplies as I possibly can to fit in my two suitcases. Water bottles, medicine, canned foods and animal food will be purchased with any left over money and will be bought once I arrive in Ecuador as those items are heavy and will take up a lot of luggage space. Any donation, big or small is appreciated!

Below is the link where you can donate and there are also some of the pictures I’ve received from friends and family of the conditions in Ecuador. Please pray for our beautiful country to overcome this tragedy. (Due to the overwhelming need for every pair of hands to help, plus a possible lack of an Internet connection, I can’t promise I’ll post anything while I’m in Ecuador—but I will blog about the trip after my return!) Thanks for reading and don’t forget to share the link with your friends!!!! #FuerzaEcuador

https://www.gofundme.com/2cfcvc7w

The GoFundMe page will be up and accepting donations until two days before I leave Ecuador…so May 2nd!! It’d be ideal if you’d donate before Tuesday so that I can buy things at Walmart but whenever you can is fine! Thanks so much!