At least 15 people were killed and hundreds more injured after a powerful earthquake rocked Ecuador and Peru on Saturday. As rescue efforts there increase, a group from the DMV comes together to raise money to help the victims.
The scenes are heartbreaking for 84-year-old Isolina Campos, who is doing everything she can to help her home country.
“My heart was shrinking, I didn’t know what to do,” she lamented. “I don’t know if I can go to Peru and do something there. But I can do more here than there.”
Campos has helped organize the annual Peruvian festival in Northern Virginia for years. Now, she has partnered with the Maryland-Piura Sister States Committee to raise money for those affected.
But it is not only the earthquake that Peruvians face. The country was just beginning to recover from a powerful cyclone that inundated cities and destroyed homes.
“Peru’s coast is damaged and everyone needs our help,” Campos said.
The woman also highlighted that her main focus is to raise money to buy clean water and mosquito repellent as the country recovers from both natural disasters.
“We are begging people to please help us,” Campos said. “We need the help. It’s not for us, it’s for them.”
She hopes that people will sympathize with what her country is going through. For now, the focus is collecting monetary donations, but in the future, Campos said she plans to collect clothing and supplies that they can send to Peru.
“I have lived here 54 years, but my heart is still half and half: half in Peru and half here,” he said.
The group is accepting donations through Zelle at (240) 600-6565. You may also contact Isolina Campos at (703) 362-1591.