A week after a , North Texas groups are organizing efforts to send aid to the hardest hit areas.
At least 290 people were killed, and thousands more are still missing as rescue and recovery efforts continue.
Colombian journalist Claudia Rengifo, who owns a marketing business in Dallas, started a collective called or Solidarity Doesn鈥檛 Have Borders. The coalition of community members has started a WhatsApp chat to share links to organizations that are accepting donations.
鈥淭he only thing we are doing is to be a bridge to other verified organizations, in order for people to avoid being scammed,鈥� Rengifo told 四虎影院 in Spanish. 鈥淔unds go directly to the organizations."
Those include the Colombian Red Cross and the Fundaci贸n Herencia de Timbiqu铆, located in the epicenter where the earthquake struck, she said.
Rengifo partnered with Yolanda Pati帽o, owner of Casa Vieja Restaurant in Carrollton, to host pop-up events where people can get more information on how to help. The next event is on Wednesday.
Pati帽o, who is originally from Bogot谩, opened the restaurant 29 years ago with her husband, Rodolfo. She said it doesn鈥檛 matter how far they go or how long they have been away from Colombia, they鈥檙e still connected to the land and the people.
She called Colombia the 鈥減lace that raised me, the place of my ancestors,鈥� and described the earthquake as 鈥減ainful.鈥� Her cousins were displaced and had to spend a couple of days in a hotel.
When Rengifo reached out to ask if she could use the restaurant as a community hub to get information, Pati帽o didn鈥檛 hesitate to help. She said she couldn鈥檛 鈥渋magine the pain that whole families with their lost children and houses completely destroyed, are going through. 鈥�
鈥淭hat鈥檚 why we should help the Red Cross and help Colombians鈥� Pati帽o said. 鈥淟et鈥檚 place aside our differences and be one nation in the name of God.鈥�
There are more than 20,000 Colombians living in North Texas according to recent Census data. The nearest consulate is in Houston.
'Different responses'
Last week鈥檚 earthquake occurred several weeks after two quakes hit the northern coast of Venezuela, killing more than 6,000 people.
Rengifo said there were 鈥渄ifferent countries, different responses, and different attention."
She said the Colombian government's response to help civilians was faster, while in Venezuela it was civilians who were doing most of the work to help their friends and neighbors. The infrastructure and government between the two countries are different, Rengifo said.
The earthquake prompted Venezuelan groups in North Texas to send clothes, medical supplies and other essential items. Rengifo said instead of paying to ship relief supplies, she and Pati帽o are able to send money directly to organizations in Colombia because the banks there are still working.
鈥淰enezuela lived through their earthquake during a profound humanitarian and social crisis,鈥� Rengifo said. 鈥淚n Colombia, all the organizations work, and you can imagine that in this tragedy everything is happening very quickly.鈥�
A Texas man on what it鈥檚 like in Colombia now
Danny Tellez, a Texas native and U.S. citizen, was in Colombia with his wife visiting her family when the earthquake hit.
鈥淚t was the worst thing I had experienced in my life,鈥� Tellez told 四虎影院. 鈥淚t was very, very strong and it would come in waves, slowly. The houses moved from side to side and I said, 鈥榤y house is going to fall, and the earth is going to open and we're going to fall inside.'鈥�
Tellez and his friend, Colombian citizen Sebastian Damelines, spoke to 四虎影院 via a video call from Quimbaya in the state of Quind铆o, one of the areas where the earthquake struck.
Damelines said his mother鈥檚 farm and at least 1,000 homes in his town, with a population of about 35,000, were damaged or destroyed. Part of the popular basilica in the predominantly Catholic community collapsed, Damelines said.
"We suffered material damage in houses, farms, and things like that,鈥� he said in Spanish. 鈥淏ut thank God, in my town, in the municipality, there were no people who died due to the earthquake.鈥�
Both Damelines and Tellez said their families have food and water, but many don鈥檛.
鈥淭he people are desperate," Tellez said. "We are going to need a lot of resources, you know, materials. And rebuilding is going to take a long time.
"It is not something that will happen overnight 鈥� but God willing, we will keep moving forward.鈥�
Priscilla Rice is 四虎影院鈥檚 communities reporter. Got a tip? Email her at price@kera.org.
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