Sudbury's Noah Loiselle touched down in Ecuador on August 21 of last year, taking part in a Rotary Club exchange program.
On April 16, a massive earthquake shook the country's coastal region, causing mass destruction while killing hundreds and injuring thousands.
Loiselle was about 10 hours away when the earthquake hit, but the he is still feeling the effects through many of his peers.
“At around 7 p.m. (April 16) I was in my room and just checking things on Facebook when I started feeling the ground rumbling,” said Loiselle in a Skype interview with Sudbury.com.
“We've had earthquakes before and there's been considerable shaking and I thought 'It's just another small quake, it's nothing', then it started to get quite a bit bigger and you could see our whole house was shaking.”
An hour later, Noah checked in on his WhatsApp chat group where he and fellow exchange students stay connected, and found out that it had been more than just a small quake.
“I saw hundreds of messages from my friends that live in these coastal towns that were saying that it was a huge earthquake and everything was destroyed,” said Loiselle.
The destruction did not spread to the city of Cuenca in the country's mountain region where Loiselle is living at present, though the family he's staying with was concerned by the shakes felt in their home.
“My house parents were saying that it was the largest (earthquake) they've ever felt,” said Loiselle.
From what Loiselle has heard from news reports, the Andes mountains absorbed most of the earthquake's impact, which is why the area where he lives wasn't hit as hard.
Some of Noah's friends living near the coastal village of Mompiche however, were not as fortunate. Loiselle had actually been through the area and spent time near Mompiche earlier this year.
“My friends that live there, we had been there for five days near the beginning of the year and (my friend) sent us a photo of the hotel that we all had stayed in and it was completely destroyed,” said Loiselle. “It's just a good thing that we weren't there when it happened."
There were some stressful days for Loiselle as he and his friends waited to hear from those in the areas that were hardest hit.
“We had asked originally, even those not in the affected areas because we were really worried and concerned if everyone was ok," said Loiselle. "They were saying they were fine, but there was a while where we had no contact with them because there was no Internet because cell towers and everything got destroyed, but eventually we found out that everyone was ok and most of their families were fine as well.”
Though not phyisically harmed by the earthquake Loiselle says that he is feeling some psychological effects from the event.
“I couldn't stop thinking about my friends, and not just them but me being Ecuadorian now, all my fellow Ecuadorians who are now in this situation and I felt that even though we're helping and giving food it wasn't enough,” said Loiselle. “I wanted to go over there or find a way to help out but the Rotarians are saying that at the moment that's not really the best idea because of how unstable things are.”
According to Loiselle, trucks carrying food and medical supplies are driving through daily, but there are numerous challenges getting into the effected areas due to much of the infrastructure being destroyed.
The military has to guard the trucks as well, as there are some who are exploiting the situation for profit by robbing supply trucks and then selling the supplies.
With everything happening in Ecuador on April 16, more than 5,000 km away in Sudbury, Noah's mother Lori-Ann was left to wonder how her son was doing.
“I didn't even hear about the earthquake until my friends started contacting me,” said Lori-Ann. “Somebody sent me a link to what was going on and I called my husband and told him what was going on and that I hadn't been able to get in touch with Noah.”
Thankfully for Noah's parents, the wait wasn't long and they were able to get into contact with their son at around 9 p.m., but the impact of those moments of uncertainty will leave a lasting impression with Lori-Ann.
“Nobody really knew the extent of it at the time and it was just really nerve-wracking,” she said. “We're just really thankful that he's OK. It's a real eye-opener because we take these things for granted living here and it's something that just doens't happen.”
With her son's safety accounted for, Lori-Ann says that he has now become a reliable news correspondant for her and her husband.
“Ecuador is his home and he has so many family and friends there and he knows a lot of things that are going on there that most people don't know,” said Lori-Ann.
Noah will return to Canada in less than two months with emotional scars that he says will stick with him.
“These are my fellow Ecuadorians,” said Loiselle. “It's estimated that it will take around two full years to completely rebuild everything and even after they do, these cities that I visited will never be the same.”
The teen is working with the Rotary program to find out when and how he can help out, though that could be a month from now.
“If I can when I get back to Canada, depending on what my schedule is I'd life to save some money and come back to help,” said Loiselle.
“It's not something that's going to resolve itself within a month, they're going to need aid from not just the people in Ecuador, but other countries as well.”
