TAMPA, Fla. — As recovery efforts continue after a devastating disaster in Venezuela, members of Tampa Bay's Venezuelan community are organizing donation drives to help families facing enormous challenges.
At Arepas Maita restaurant in Tampa, volunteers have been collecting clothing, food, medicine and other essential supplies. For many, the effort is deeply personal.
WATCH: Tampa Bay's Venezuelan community rallies to help after devastating disaster
Restaurant owner Paula Bordon, speaking through a translator, said the latest tragedy has been especially painful for a country that has already endured years of political and economic hardship.
"We were not prepared for this. They were not prepared for this," Bordon said. "We've been going through so much over the last several years, so much heartbreak. It's really hard on all of us, especially the people who live there and our loved ones."
Libia Leon, who moved to the United States when she was 10, said nearly everyone in Tampa's Venezuelan community knows someone affected.
"I'm only here with my dad, and all my family is in Caracas," Leon said. "All my friends have missing family. I have missing family."
Another donation drive at Sandy Perrone Park is collecting food, medicine, hygiene products and baby supplies as organizers work to send relief to those in need.
"It's very chaotic right now,"Diego Anzalone said. "People are running around trying to find their relatives, trying to find food. A lot of places don't have power. They don't have running water."
While many families are still searching for missing loved ones, others say they feel fortunate to help from afar.
"That's why we want to help," Alvaro Rangel said.
Back at Arepas Maita, volunteers continue packing boxes with donated supplies, hoping their efforts will make a difference.
"It's been very hard to see a country you love and grew up in be destroyed," another volunteer said. "They really weren't prepared for this, and I just want to help in any way I can," Leon said.
The donation effort is being coordinated with the Venezuelan American We Love Foundation. Organizers say three truckloads of supplies are expected to travel from Tampa to Miami this weekend before being shipped overseas. While donations of supplies are welcome, organizers say financial contributions will have the greatest impact because they allow aid organizations to respond to changing needs more quickly.
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