Equador trip hopes to aid earthquake victims

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This article was published 15/05/2016 (2895 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Summer cannot come soon enough for the Steinbach high school students that will lend a hand in Ecuador.

This has been the case, surely, for the more than 100 teenagers and young adults who have made the yearly educational trip spearheaded by Mark Reimer since 2011, but there is an added importance to their pending July visit—this time they will help earthquake survivors rebuild.

This April, a devastating earthquake resulted in the deaths of 650 people and injured a another 16,000. One of the hard-hit locales was Puerto Lopez, the fishing village that has welcomed the assistance of local youth with open arms and sent a handful of their own for a semester of high school in Steinbach as part of the Manitoba to Ecuador project.

“I’m just anxious to go, just to be able to help in any way that I can and to see everyone again,” said Bobbie Nickel, 19, who graduated from Steinbach Regional Secondary School last year and initially visited the country in 2014.

“I want to go more because now I can help them,” said Olivia Letkeman, 17, who is also making a return trip. “I’ll be able to help whichever way I’m capable of.” When both Nickel and Letkeman heard of the 7.8 magnitude quake, they reached out to the friends they made, ensuring they were safe, which was thankfully the case.

“I talked to some of them and they said they were very scared,” said Nickel.

The tragedy prompted Reimer, director of the Manitoba to Ecuador project, to shift the attention of this year’s trip to disaster relief.

There will be time for daycare visits and reading to children like there always is but on this occasion they will assist wherever they are needed. The organization they have previously connected with is coordinating relief efforts and they will tell their Manitoba helpers where to go.

“We’re bringing down 20 pairs of hands,” said Reimer, whose team will spend about three weeks in Ecuador.

If he has his say, there will not be free space in anyone’s luggage. He wants to cram each bag with as much donated clothing and medicine they can fill. Previously, they would have only packed children’s clothes, but now attire for all ages will be taken.

“In terms of homes, three people that we know had their homes destroyed—two of them have the capacity to reconstruct their lodgings, one of them does not,” said Reimer.

The family that cannot rebuild is a family of 26 that has no place else. The Manitoba visitors hope to make their friends’ home livable again.

Claudia Giesbrecht, 17, agreed to make her first visit months before Ecuadorian earthquake. She says her resolve to help has grown since the quake struck.

“The more you hear about what’s going on there, like personal stories and seeing the pictures and videos, it just makes it so much more real,” she said. “It will be good to go there and help out.”

To afford their plan of raising thousands for medicine and construction equipment, a series of fundraisers are underway. Tomorrow night, Corny Rempel will perform in Elvis for Ecuador, a concert fundraiser that will include Latin snacks and stories about Ecuador. Tickets can be purchased at the SRSS library and Lecoka Café and costs $10 for adults and $5 for kids. Doors open at 7 p.m.

A collection held two weeks ago at the SRSS raised more than $1,300. A fundraising dinner will be arranged this fall to raise money for a dedicated construction crew planning a trip in the future.

You can contact Reimer for more details on how to donate at 204-346-1942 or marreimer@hsd.ca.