Writing this post is not easy for me. As an Ecuadorian I have to admit that my heart is broken, being away from my home country during this difficult time leaves me feeling desperate. As you may (or may not know) this past Saturday April 16th, 2016 the Ecuadorian coast was hit by a major 7.8 earthquake.
While I was out and about with one of my dear friends and our babies enjoying the beatiful spring weather in NYC I received the call from one of my older brothers alerting me about the earthquake, he had tried calling my dad in Guayaquil and there was no answer. Soon that call became a four way call with all my siblings desperate, scared and feeling trapped without any news from my father nor any other family member. Fortunately about an hour after, my dad was able to call us and let us know he was ok, I can literally say I felt life coming back to me, the relief I felt was indescribable. Sadly, this story was not the same for many of my fellow Ecuadorians.
As the night approached we began seeing pictures of the devastation in our beloved country, entire cities had been destroyed, buildings everywhere had collapsed, bridges had fallen, Facebook soon became the outlet for desperate people trying to find their loved ones who were missing. Up to this day the 7.8 quake that hit Ecuador has left 577 dead, approximately 105 missing persons, 4.605 injured and 23,504 homeless families. There have been about 530 replications since Saturday, the most recent being a 6.6 quake on Thursday April 21st.
This is one of the most devastating natural events that has taken place in Ecuador since 1979. Esmeraldas, Manabi and Guayas were the three main provinces that suffered damages. Pedernales, a small city located in Manabi is practically all buried under debris. There are many cities that are still isolated. I’m proud to say that my compatriots have come together to help out all those who are in desperate need. Supermarkets have been emptied in an attempt to get them all water and main necessities. Unfortunately it hasn’t been enough.
Ecuador needs you, my country needs you!
Even though we are away we can still help, we want to do the best we can which is why I need you to help us help them!
Thousands of children have lost everything, many of them became orphans in a matter of seconds. The Ecuadorian infants, pregnant women, breastfeeding moms and children are in need of your help which is why Breastfeeding World is organizing a major collection of donations. We are working with the Ecuadorian Consulate in NYC as well as with TAME Ecuador (an Ecuadorian airline) to guarantee the prompt delivery of all donations.
Ecuador Earthquake – Helping from abroad
Although everyone needs our help we would like to focus on the defenseless: the infants, children, pregnant and lactating women. We have set 4 affiliated collection sites in NYC, 1 in Stamford, CT, 1 in NJ and 1 on Martha’s Vineyard which will be gathering all donations to then unite them all and deliver them directly to TAME Ecuador.
- Responsible: Alexia Garcia – 231 W 148th Street Apt 3H New York, NY 10039. (Main Site)
- Responsible: Lisa Maloney – 3000 Ocean Parkway Brooklyn, NY 11235
- Responsible: Kate DiMarco – Address coming soon
- Responsible: Jennifer Reyes – 63-42 Fresh Pond Road Ridgewood, NY 11385
- Responsible: Shelyn Garcia – 560 State Road West Tisbury, MA 02575 (on Martha’s Vineyard)
- Responsible: Sharon Emeline – 71 Netock Ave Oak Bluffs, MA 02557 (on Martha’s Vineyard)
- Responsible: Guilianna Lector – 28 Roosevelt Ave Apt 2 Stamford, CT 06902
- Responsible: Samantha Salinas – 1083 Fulton st. Rahway NJ
The Ecuadorian children and women are in desperate need of:
– Diapers (any brand and all sizes) - – Baby wipes ( preferably the single packs to be easier to distribute)
- – Baby food + cereals (No expired items please!)
- – Baby formula
- – Baby blankets (New or gently used)
- – Baby bottles
- – Plastic utensils and cups for children
- – Children toys
- – Women sanitary pads
- WATER! A LOOOT OF WATER
We are currently accepting donations of these items ONLY. Breastfeeding World will not accept monetary donations. You can deposit monetary donations directly to the bank accounts that the Ecuadorian Government has disposed for this purpose.
If you are NOT close to any of the locations listed above you can still help us, you are welcome to purchase the items that you’d like to donate and ship them to our Main Site. Every little help we get counts!
We are working on sending two shipments. We are hoping to send the first one as soon as possible with as much donations as we can get and then a second shipment in Mid-May. We will confirm the actual shipment dates soon after we speak with the representative from TAME Ecuador.
Ecuador is in desperate need of your help. Please do not turn your back away, help us make a difference!
A small contribution from you can change the world for these families that have lost all they had.
If you would like to contribute to this cause we ask that you fill out this form below to help us organize your donation better, we are counting on you!
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Be sure to join us in our social media accounts to be up to date with the progress of our project!
And… Don’t forget to share your brelfies using our HT #BreastfeedingWorld
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I’m a proud mom to a beautiful little girl who is the reason of all my smiles | Creator and founder of the Breastfeeding World Project – passionate about normalizing breastfeeding | Professional photographer serving New York City
