I first want to say to any of our friends or family that might read this blog as a way of checking up on us, that we are fine. Neither Shannon nor I are in any harm nor were we injured. Our home also did not sustain any damage.
Now for context. This past Saturday at around 7:00pm, there was a 7.8 earthquake in Ecuador. The impact site was a small coastal town called Muisne. While the coast was the largest area affected, the entire country felt the impact, both figuratively and literally.
I was on a work trip to Peru and making my way back the night of the earthquake. When I walked into the hotel to get on our bus headed to the hotel, I was mobbed with people asking about my family and friends in Ecuador and by my colleagues. I looked at my phone and had well over 85 messages.
The first thing I did was check Shannon's. They expressed her initial reaction to the earthquake and her fear. I was instantly home sick, guilt ridden for not being there, and anxious. After she assured me that she was alright, I checked CNN for more information and began seeing images. I will admit that temporary relief flooded me when Shannon was ok and I feel a bit guilty about that as well due to the fact that in that moment, my scope was only on her and I was glossing over the thousands of other people in my resident country who would never be the same.
Some of the things I saw on CNN were truly horrific. While I have seen reports of natural disasters around the world before and felt sympathy, it has never struck home to me the way this did. Every image, every town, everything I saw was a place that I have been to, or been close to. I won't post any of the photos here because by this time our readers have either seen them, or have no desire to. I got home as quick as I could despite the minor flight delay due to the airport being shut down temporarily. I arrived a few hours later at 5am to the news that another 6.1 earthquake/aftershock took place.
By most accounts, the earthquake lasted somewhere between 30 seconds and a minute. In our area of Quito, there was not that much damage, although in the less economically developed southern sector, there were reports of quite a bit of damage. The coast, however was destroyed. For context, the coast is largely comprised of poor towns, no larger than the size of your average U.S. shopping mall. Most of the buildings, with a few exceptions are made of concrete and many do not have roofs, or windows. Structurally and architecturally speaking, it is not an area that was built to withstand what happened. At the moment the current death toll stands at 413 with over 3,000 injured and countless more people missing beneath the rubble of crumbled buildings.
When I got to school on Monday, I checked with each of my students before first block. I asked them how they were doing and if their families were alright. While we are an international school, about 50% of our overall population, and a good bit more of that in the Middle School, are all Ecuadorian. As the kids walked around talking, searching for some kind of normalcy I could see that they were uneasy and as I asked about their families, some of them couldn't answer me. They just looked at me with tears in their eyes and shook their heads no. As I spoke to them later in the week, I found out that quite a few of my students' family members had passed away and many had missing family members.
It's absolutely devastating to see a tragedy so close. I saw areas of the country that I had been to. The worst part for me though, was seeing students who I have known, and whose families I have known for two years in shock and despair. Many of them have to deal with the grief of lost loved ones. Even more have to juggle realistic expectations with hope as they wait, with baited breath for resolution. As they hope for word that a family member didn't make it, or if they're lucky, a phone call explaining that they had survived despite losing everything. To see the people that are impacted by something like an earthquake of this magnitude is absolutely humbling and puts life into perspective.
This has hit home for Shannon and I. As we move forward, we are going to do everything we can to assist in rebuilding this community that has adopted us. Between food and clothing drives, blood donations, and other service projects, we are going to do everything within our power to help Ecuador cope with the reality with which it is now faced.
While I am not one to push political, economic, or humanitarian efforts, due to the close nature of this event to our lives, I feel obligated to post some options for some of our friends, families, or strangers who may read this and want to contribute. While I know there is justifiable skepticism about many humanitarian aid organizations, the way I see it, even if the worst case scenario takes place and only some of your intended donations make it to Ecuador, every little bit helps. That donation, full or partial will go a long way in providing truly vital supplies.
If you want to help, the following organizations are reputable and are accepting donations:
Ecuador Red Cross-Providing first aid and searching for survivors.
UNICEF-Delivering water, supplies, and medicine.
World Vision-Setting up shelters and providing supplies and medical assistance.
Samaritan's Purse- Medical assistance, and local community outreach.
World Food Program- Food assistance to families in need.
Oxfam America-Clean water, sanitation, hygiene.
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