A week after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck Colombia, 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 La Solidaridad No Tiene Fronteras, or Solidarity Doesn’t Have Borders. The coalition of community members has started a WhatsApp chat to share links to organizations that are accepting donations.
“The only thing we are doing is to be a bridge to other verified organizations, in order for people to avoid being scammed,” Rengifo told KERA in Spanish. “Funds go directly to the organizations."
Those include the Colombian Red Cross and the Fundación Herencia de Timbiquí, located in the epicenter where the earthquake struck, she said.
Rengifo partnered with Yolanda Patiño, 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.
Patiño, who is originally from Bogotá, opened the restaurant 29 years ago with her husband, Rodolfo. She said it doesn’t matter how far they go or how long they have been away from Colombia, they’re still connected to the land and the people.
She called Colombia the “place that raised me, the place of my ancestors,” and described the earthquake as “painful.” 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, Patiño didn’t hesitate to help. She said she couldn’t “imagine the pain that whole families with their lost children and houses completely destroyed, are going through. ”
“That’s why we should help the Red Cross and help Colombians” Patiño said. “Let’s place aside our differences and be one nation in the name of God.”
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’s earthquake occurred several weeks after two quakes hit the northern coast of Venezuela, killing more than 6,000 people.
Rengifo said there were “different 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 Patiño are able to send money directly to organizations in Colombia because the banks there are still working.
“Venezuela lived through their earthquake during a profound humanitarian and social crisis,” Rengifo said. “In Colombia, all the organizations work, and you can imagine that in this tragedy everything is happening very quickly.”
A Texas man on what it’s 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.
“It was the worst thing I had experienced in my life,” Tellez told KERA. “It was very, very strong and it would come in waves, slowly. The houses moved from side to side and I said, ‘my house is going to fall, and the earth is going to open and we're going to fall inside.'”
Tellez and his friend, Colombian citizen Sebastian Damelines, spoke to KERA via a video call from Quimbaya in the state of Quindío, one of the areas where the earthquake struck.
Damelines said his mother’s 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,” he said in Spanish. “But thank God, in my town, in the municipality, there were no people who died due to the earthquake.”
Both Damelines and Tellez said their families have food and water, but many don’t.
“The 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 – but God willing, we will keep moving forward.”
Priscilla Rice is KERA’s communities reporter. Got a tip? Email her at price@kera.org.
KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today. Thank you.
