BUSHWICK — When Nicole Potosme heard news of the weekend's deadly earthquake in her native country of Ecuador, she felt helpless, she said.
The 7.8-magnitude quake that struck Saturday night killed at least 500 people and hundreds more are still missing, in what the country's defense minister Ricardo Patiño called the "worst tragedy in 60 years."
"It's just heartbreaking. You feel very helpless and useless cause you're here," said Potosme, 21, a native from Guayaquil who gathered with dozens of Ecuadorian immigrants Tuesday night for a candlelight vigil in Maria Hernandez Park. "Two of my friends have died, I know people who have lost everything."
"We're just trying to think of how we can help," she added, saying she soon realized, "What they need right now, it's just water."
Now, Potosme is organizing a fundraiser with another Ecuadorian friend based in the U.S. to buy LifeStraws, which filter dirty water on the spot and make it drinkable in most cases.
Tuesday night's vigil was held in solidarity with victims of the earthquakes in both Ecuador and Japan, where at least 47 people have died, though most who turned out had ties to Ecuador, an immigrant community with deep roots in Bushwick.
"I'm sorry. Your pain is our pain," Brooklyn Borough president Eric Adams in Spanish, whose office had hosted the vigil, said in Spanish.
Some who turned out Tuesday and had family and friends in impacted areas, while others came to show their solidarity.
"The first thing we did was rush to the phones to see if everyone we know was OK," Danilo Parrales, 34, who said the hours after the quake were utter chaos. "After that we just watched the news."
Manuel Vega, 40, a Bushwick resident who moved from Ecuador three years ago, said he hoped for help from a higher power.
"Many are in crisis, I came to pray for [them]," he said in Spanish.
The Ecuadorian embassy is organizing relief efforts. They have a list of drop off centers across the city where you can donate tents, blankets, personal hygiene products, flashlights, candles, diapers and lots of other items.
There's also information on how to money donate to the Red Cross and UNICEF or how to make cash deposits directly to Country's Finance Ministry.
