My name is Laura. I'm Colombian, living in Canada, and I'm writing this from very far away while my family gets through the worst week of their lives.

On August 10th at ~7:30am, an earthquake hit Pereira, my grandfather Alfredo Cardona, 88, and my uncle Jorge Cardona, who lives with him. Both are alive and unhurt (I want to say that first, because for a long stretch that day I didn't know it). Their building is standing but their apartment is unusable, and the area around it isn't safe to return to. They've moved in with my aunt on the outskirts of the city, and who was also been affected by the quake. My aunt's house came through structurally intact, but it sits beside a slope, and the retaining wall that held that slope collapsed in the quake. The roof was damaged too.

Right now, where they are: no electricity. No running water. Phone service comes and goes, so I hear from them in fragments. The stores are closed and they are rationing what food and water they have.

What this money is for, immediately: drinking water, food, fuel, medication, batteries or a generator, transport, and if we can manage it, somewhere safer to sleep.

What I can't tell you yet: what the rebuilding will cost. No engineer/contractor can get out to assess that wall right now, and the roof will need proper repair before the rains. I'm not going to invent a number. I've set this goal to cover the emergency, and I'll come back with real figures and photos once anyone can actually get in to look.

I'll receive the funds from this fundraiser in Canada as the organizer and transfer the net funds raised to my family in Colombia to help cover the emergency, recovery, and rebuilding expenses described above. I am organizing this fundraiser solely to help my family and will not receive any compensation or personally profit from the funds raised. I'll keep records of the funds received and transferred and will post updates here as often as service allows.

My grandfather worked his entire life for that apartment. He is 88 years old and he is taking this very hard. Whatever you can give buys them the next few days and it tells him that people he's never met were willing to help.

Thank you.