CHULA VISTA (KGTV) — Local Venezuelans in San Diego are coming together to collect critical supplies for earthquake victims back home, nearly a week after two powerful earthquakes devastated the country.
Venezuelan officials say nearly 2,000 people have died. Thousands are still missing.
Organizers of the donation drive say their mission is twofold: collecting life-saving supplies and making sure those supplies successfully reach the earthquake victims.
To prevent supplies from being resold, organizers are taking extra precautions — marking out barcodes with a Sharpie and labeling each item as a donation.
Jormin Atacho, president of Latino Bikers San Diego, is coordinating the relief efforts. He is originally from Caracas, Venezuela's capital.
"And we're also writing that it's a donation on the product and do not sell," Atacho's translator said.
Organizers said the most critical needs in Venezuela right now are medical supplies, baby diapers, and nonperishable food. They say they do not need clothing or bottled water.
Organizers said another urgent need is body bags.
"They don't have enough bags to place bodies in right now," Atacho's translator said. "They're double-bagging the bodies and putting the children in them."
Silvia Masieri, a Venezuelan donation drive volunteer, is also originally from Caracas. In Spanish, she said this message:
"To all my Venezuelan brothers, there’s nothing more painful that to live your pain from a distance, our thoughts and prayers have been with you since the first second we heard of the tragedy, and knowing the places in person, I know the magnitude of the disaster, because I lived in Valencia and Caracas, and I know the magnitude of the disaster, I don’t have words, I don’t know how to manage this pain. It’s too much to live this pain from afar. I hope god gives us the strength to get through this, I know how hard it is during a government like this one to live through what is happening. May god be with us. Amen."
Masieri said the devastation is worse because the country's crumbling infrastructure.
"We don't have a good hospital. We don't have any emergency system at all," Masieri said. "We don't have a really good ambulance."
Masieri also raised concerns about government interference with donated goods.
"We know that the government is trying to steal the stuff that many people are giving to them, or they are trying to put their sticker that they are coming from the government," Masieri said.
To ensure supplies reach earthquake victims directly, organizers are partnering with the nonprofit Caritas for delivery.
The donation drive continues through 8 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, with another collection planned next Monday.
