Ecuador is in ruins a week after South America's largest earthquake in more than a decade.
A group of volunteers gathered in Lindbergh Park Saturday to collect diapers, water, food, clothes, shoes, dog food and other supplies to send to earthquake survivors.
"People are without a home and basically we’re doing a little bit of trying to help out, basically our country by doing this,” volunteer Jorge Ramirez said.
Ramirez and others from San Diego's Ecuadorian community felt helpless watching the devastation happening hundreds of miles away in the country many of them still call home.
More than 600 people are now confirmed dead in after the earthquake while the search for 130 people continues.
The 23,000 residents left homeless are now lining up for scarce food and water, and some survivors are even turning to trash dumps to try and find a meal.
Others are sleeping on an airport tarmac. A mother of a one-year-old in Ecuador said it could be their home for a year.
"We've been getting a lot of donations as you can see,” Ramirez said of the donations. “People are getting the message out there…and we'll see if we can get as much as we can out there. Because they need it. They need it."
Photo Credit: NBC 7