It's now more than a
week since the 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Ecuador.
Communication to
Canoa has been improving over the last few days and it seems like cleaning up
is underway. Many private organizations and people are bringing important
supplies like food, water and mattresses to Canoa. But a lot of help is still needed
Luckily nobody in our
family was injured. Carlos' parents house was damaged so badly that it needs to
be demolished. It was possible to get some stuff out of the house although it
probably was very risky to get in the house. ( Carlos' sister described the
house as "moving like jello")
There still have been
many aftershocks, some of them as strong as magnitude 6.1. It must be
emotionally very difficult if the earth shakes multiple times a day, especially
after an traumatic experience like a 7.8 earthquake.
Thanks to the
donations of my very generous colleagues, friends and friend of friends, we were
able to send some supplies to Carlos family and friends in Canoa. Leo (Carlos' brother) left for Ecuador yesterday and thanks to #TAME he could take five large bags with supplies to Canoa free of charge.
What we bought now from the donations are:
My colleagues donated:
- 3 mosquito nets,
- 5 insect repellent bracelets,
- 1 flashlight+radio
- 2 emergency tents
- 30 water purifying tablets
- 2 headbands flashlights
- 12 Fire sticks
Due to the generous donations, there are sufficient funds to buy more supplies that Carlos can take to Ecuador in a few weeks.
We will also be able to buy construction supplies to first build a shelter for the immediate situation and later to help build a new house.
Carlos' family is
currently living a few miles inland from Canoa at a property that we bought a
few years ago. They only have a small plastic cover and mattresses that they
could get out of the house.
Road near Canoa |