Coastal Ecuador in Crisis

Executive Summary: Please share & donate to Ecuador Relief Fund - small communities are in urgent need.

My Ecuador Story: As some of you may know, my wife and I lived in coastal Ecuador for a number of years in a small town where she had been stationed for Peace Corps service. We have retained a deep connection with the village of Tabuga through purchasing a small farm and managing it with local partners into a sustainable agriculture and ecotourism project over the last 7 years.

That farm is only 30km south of the epicenter of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that rocked coastal Ecuador this past Saturday - so our past few days have been tilted towards disaster response, as we rushed to check on our farm managers and volunteers, as well as the communities that we care so much about.

To that end, we started an earthquake relief effort with a couple other local groups. We opened a funding page on Sunday morning, 4/17/16, and I'm incredibly thankful to share that in the last 4 days we have raised over $40,000 to go to emergency supplies and then rebuild the small communities that have been decimated. That's incredible success in a very short time - but the damage is such that we would like to raise far more.

I would very much appreciate if you are able to share the link to our funding page, and consider donating if you have the means. We've already led one convoy of supplies into the disaster zone and have our next one leaving tomorrow - so these donations are going directly, and quickly, to the people that need them most. Here is the link to the fund: Ecuador Relief Fund

Thank you so much for your time and consideration. I hope that you can visit our farm in coastal Ecuador someday in happier times.

-Alex Johnson