After April 16, the country of Ecuador would never be the same. A 7.8 earthquake hit the coastal zone of Ecuador, causing hundreds of deaths and unmeasured economic loss. Thousands of families were left homeless, without access to water, electricity and basic hygienic services.
“For my country and my people … we are a very small country and we are going through some really tough times,” says Diego Campoverde-Cisneros. “It’s just so sad. It’s very personal because it’s my country and I love it so much.”
Campoverde-Cisneros, the senior bilingual communications, PR, and marketing coordinator for Unity Health Insurance here in Madison, has a large family back in Ecuador – mom and dad, seven siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, numerous nieces and nephews.
“When I first heard about this, I totally got scared. I called my family right away in Cuenca, [Ecuador], and they told me that they were fine and that the epicenter was far away from Cuenca,” Campoverde-Cisneros says. “It was actually on the north coast that was 10-12 hours away from Cuenca by car. However, it was so strong that the entire country felt it. My father told me that the cars were moving on the parking lot in Cuenca … so can you imagine being close to the epicenter? It would be so terrifying.
“My parents told me that they were OK, but they were scared. They were talking about the aftershocks all the time. That was Saturday night,” he adds. “When I woke up on Sunday, I saw all of the news and all of the images. It was just heartbreaking. It was really, really bad and really, really serious.”
To make matters worse, a powerful earthquake measuring 6.0 magnitude struck off Ecuador’s disaster-stricken coast yesterday, as survivors of an earlier deadly quake that killed 587 people clamored for food, water and medicine in parts of the disaster zone.
Medical and rescue teams in the affected zones are struggling to meet the demand for help. Meanwhile, Ecuadorian faculty, students, and community members in Wisconsin have been watching in horror. Immediately upon learning about the disaster, these same individuals, along with the Madison community, began collaborating to help the families directly affected by the earthquake.
Once he knew that his family was alive and OK, Campoverde-Cisneros also embarked on a busy week to help raise money and awareness for victims of the earthquake.
“We have many events planned to raise money and awareness. There will be a demonstration at the State Capitol Building tonight at 6 p.m. to create awareness on what is going on in Ecuador,” Campoverde-Cisneros says. “It will be right at the top of State Street.”
On Saturday, there will be a benefit at The Cardinal in downtown Madison. “[Cardinal owner] Ricardo [Gonzalez] has agreed to donate the cover charges for the night to the Ecuador cause,” Campoverde-Cisneros says.
Tonight, the Latino Professionals Association of Greater Madison will host an event, El Brindis del Exito, with about 100 people at the Concourse Hotel. “We will talk about the efforts young people are making and try to encourage people to donate at the event,” Campoverde-Cisneros says.
Those young people are a group called Badgers for Ecuador, an Ecuadorian student and community-based coalition united in the Madison area with the purpose to provide relief to the victims of the earthquakes in Ecuador. They are made up of college students from UW-Madison, Madison College, Edgewood College; high school students from West High School, Madison Country Day School; and most importantly, members of La Asociación de Ecuatorianos en Wisconsin (The Association of Ecuadorians in Wisconsin).
Campoverde-Cisneros, who holds a social communications degree from the University in Ecuador, says that they have partnered with Andean Health and Development who have two hospitals in Ecuador who are treating people who have gotten injured in the earthquake.
“This is a local organization created by a doctor in Madison many, many years ago,” he says. “The hospitals were lucky enough to not be damaged during the earthquake, but they are seeing all of these victims come to the hospital. We were lucky to find Andean Health and Development and we are conducting all of the donations of Badgers for Ecuador through them.”
Campoverde-Cisneros, the 2013 Alix Olson Award For the Promotion of a Tolerant And Just Community, says that beyond this weekend they are also planning future events and fundraisers for next week.
“I’m a very sensitive person and it’s so hard for me to watch the news every day as they report on this. It’s been affecting me a lot,” Campoverde-Cisneros says. “But that’s why we got together and put together this initiative to gather all of these donations and to create an awareness of what is going on in Ecuador. It goes beyond the donations. It’s about our humanity. To see all of these people in need and what the government is trying to do … it’s a sad situation.”
To help out or donate to the victims of the Ecuadorian earthquakes, click here.
