Mi Mochima Restaurant In Shelter Cove Hosts Fundraiser for Venezuela Earthquake Victims

Mi Mochima restaurant in Shelter Cove will hold an “Arepazo for Venezuela” this Sunday, July 5, timed to Venezuelan Independence Day, to raise money and collect supplies for earthquake victims back home.

Back-to-back earthquakes hit Venezuela on June 24, and the death toll has climbed past 2,295, with roughly 13,000 people left homeless, according to Al Jazeera. A NASA satellite assessment found nearly 60,000 buildings may have been damaged or destroyed in the disaster, CBS News reported.

Indiana, who owns Mi Mochima, said her family in Venezuela includes paramedics who are working to help earthquake survivors and need supplies to keep going.

“The situation is much worse than any news outlet can imagine and we are doing a fundraiser for our country,” Indiana said. “We are such a small community and not located in northern Humboldt many Venezuelans that are trying to help do not know about it.”

The fundraiser will run all day Sunday at Mi Mochima, located at 210 Wave Dr. in Shelter Cove. Every arepa sold that day will go toward relief efforts, and the restaurant will also have a donation bucket out for anyone who wants to give cash on the spot.

Organizers are collecting:

• Non-perishable food
• Over-the-counter medicines and first aid supplies
• Baby supplies
• Hygiene products
• Clothing and blankets
• Monetary donations

People who want to send supplies directly can do so through an Amazon wishlist, accessible by scanning a QR code on the event flyer. Donations can also be dropped off in person at the Shelter Cove address.

“PLEASE help, the desperation we all feel is imaginable,” Indiana said.

Aid workers on the ground in Venezuela fear disease outbreaks in temporary shelters because of overcrowding and a lack of access to clean water and sanitation, Al Jazeera reported. Displaced families are living in poor sanitary conditions while hospitals already stretched thin struggle to keep up with a surge of emergency patients, the Associated Press reported via CBC.

For more information on the Arepazo for Venezuela, contact Mi Mochima directly.