DORAL, FLA. (WSVN) - As residents in Western Colombia cope with the aftermath of a devastating earthquake and search crews race against time to pull survivors from the rubble, the Global Empowerment Mission is getting ready to head to the South American country with supplies and helping hands.
7News cameras on Tuesday morning captured volunteers at GEM’s headquarters in Doral sorting through all the different collections and donations that have been dropped off at the warehouse.
Coordinators at GEM are still asking for more people to come through with much-needed items, with their time and with cash donations. All of these resources will be on a plane Tuesday afternoon and sometime on Wednesday so that it can be distributed to the hardest hit areas.
Colombians in Miami-Dade County, meanwhile, were still reeling after learning of Monday’s powerful 7.4 magnitude earthquake that rocked the western part of the country.
“Actually, all my family is from Pereira, but we finally ended up calling in. All of them are OK, but we have a lot of people, a lot of houses damaged,” said South Florida resident Cristian Rincon.
“Basically, my family is in Bogotá, and it was felt very strongly there. But thank God, everyone is all right,” said a man through a translator.
As the desperate search for survivors grows, so does the need for resources.
“Different than when the disaster began in Venezuela, where this was our only location. We’ve now expanded to four warehouses, so we have the capacity to house or welcome more volunteers, but again, the need is double,” said GEM executive board member Francine Delarosa.
As for what items are the ones GEM is asking for, they are:
- Tents
- Tarps
- Sleeping bags
- Blankets
- Hygiene products
- First aid supplies
Meanwhile, help from South Florida is already on the ground.
“Just came back from our third trip to Venezuela, so, and some of our team went for a break to Colombia. Imagine the coincidence, and now they’re there, and we have multiple teams flying in from Guatemala and from all over the region,” said GEM President and CEO Michael Capponi.
Capponi said members of his team experienced the earthquake, with one GEM staff member able to record video in the immediate aftermath.
“A massive earthquake just struck in Colombia. I’m in Bucaramanga, Colombia, and we had to evacuate this building with our family,” said the staff member in the video.
Capponi said GEM will be able to move quickly and begin distributions in about 48 hours. The warehouse in Doral is still packed with critical aid for Venezuela, and they’re partnering up with the City of Doral once again to send much-needed aid over to South America.
“There’s cargo planes ready that we’ll be able to take. You know, Colombia has direct flights and all these things that are very much easier accessible, so we’re working with all those companies,” said Doral Mayor Christi Fraga.
“Because what we will be doing for this mission is buying supplies directly in Colombia to be able to get them into the hands of the victims more quickly,” said Delarosa.
Capponi will host a news conference late Tuesday morning. He said he’s going to be flying out to Colombia later in the afternoon, and the plan is to start distribution in the next 24 hours.
For more information about how you can help GEM by volunteering, bringing supples or giving cash donations, click here.
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