Baltimore restaurant stands with Venezuela after devastating earthquakes: "I haven't been able to sleep"

A Baltimore Venezuelan restaurant is providing relief to families impacted by back-to-back earthquakes in Venezuela.

AREPI in Fells Point is collecting donations for Venezuela.

The death toll continues to rise following the two quakes. A 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit Venezuela's northern coast Wednesday night. Seconds later, a 7.5 magnitude quake struck the country.

More than 900 people have died, and over 3,300 are hurt, according to Jorge Rodríguez, the president of Venezuela's National Assembly.

"We were in shock."

"I haven't been able to sleep since it happened," said Harold Dams, one of AREPI's owners.

He said his uncle lives near the epicenter of the earthquake. 

"He moved to a safer place," Dams said. "There's a lot of his neighbors that are not found yet."

"We wish we were in Venezuela right now, on the ground helping with our own hands. You know, as much as we can," said Luis Dams, another AREPI owner.

How you can help

Since they can't be there, they've decided to gather essentials here in Baltimore, collecting medical supplies, food, clothes, sleeping bags and much more. They've partnered with two organizations to send their donations overseas.

The family just started their donation drive on Thursday, and Baltimore neighbors have already started to pile up their kitchen with bags.

"This is why we love Baltimore so much and why we've moved here, and we stayed here because the community shows up," Harold said.

No matter how big or small the donation, Arepi is calling on the community to stand with Venezuela.

"This is how we show the world how we are as a people," Harold said. "We collectively as Venezuelans are understanding how our biggest resource is not our natural resources but ourselves and how we help ourselves in situations like this."

The family plans to send out their first shipment at the beginning of July. However, they will continue collecting donations throughout July and into August. 

You can drop off donations at the AREPI restaurant on Thames Street.