Resources for Bunche

Thank you to everyone who has donated so far!






On April 16th, a  7.8 earthquake hit Ecuador. The epicenter was located only about 16 miles south of Muisne and Bunche in Esmeraldas, the town where myself I have spent many years, where many of you all have spent time, and where many of my friends still live to this day. The members of the Trejo family (Alvaro, Hector, Diego, Fredy Jr/Sr, Horacio, Paola,  Mirian and everyone else!) are all thankfully unharmed and their house is in fairly good shape, but the Bunche community as a whole is in need of help.


Although the Red Cross is helping in larger cities in Ecuador, as of now there is very little aid arriving to Muisne, let alone tiny, little Bunche. The residents are in need of many basic necessities. Most of the tiny, local stores are either badly damaged or weren't well stocked to begin with; non-perishables will soon run out. Items such as rice, canned tuna, oil, and candles are now in high demand and prices are sky rocketing for the residents of the already struggling community. Even after possible Red Cross contributions, these basic goods will serve to help take some of the weight off of the many families affected by the earthquake-- some of whom quite literally have nothing now.


Donations will be collected by me (MaryClare Zimmermann) and then sent to Andrea Larson in Quito, Ecuador. Andrea and the members of the Trejo family currently living in Quito will be purchasing basic goods to be boxed up and sent across the country to Bunche in the following days. Donations will also help to cover the cost of sending the boxes via bus and then transporting them via hired car from Esmeraldas City to Bunche.

Any donation at all helps. Thank you all so much for your kind messages and thoughts. We all appreciate them very much!