READING, Pa. — As Aroon Escobar gets ready for another game with the Reading Fightin Phils, his mind is still thousands of miles away in Venezuela.
“I’m from La Guaira, where the earthquake happened. I’m sad for the people there. I’m supporting them from here. We’re working with the team to buy food and help our friends in Venezuela,” Escobar said.
He says he was playing last Wednesday when he first learned about the earthquakes. Then, his phone rang.
“I left the game and my mom called me crying. She thought she wasn’t going to see me again. It was very sad,” Escobar said.
His family is safe. But he says several close friends lost their lives. That’s why this weekend, he wore a wristband with a simple message: “Venezuela Together.”
“I try to help as much as I can, but I feel it’s not enough. I’d like to be there helping… lifting any debris… helping my friends there, their families,” Escobar said.
Now, instead of watching from afar, he and his teammates are organizing donations to help families back home.
“People can write to me on Instagram. We’re trying to help families near La Guaira with food and supplies. We just hope things get better in Venezuela,” Escobar said.
As he gets ready for the game, Escobar says being so far from home has made this week even more difficult.
“Enjoy your family. Love them. As long as you can hug your parents, your brothers or your cousins, do it with all your heart. Today we’re here… tomorrow we don’t know,” he said.
Anyone interested in helping can contact Escobar through his Instagram account, @aroonescobar10, where he is coordinating efforts to support families in and around La Guaira.