EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — For weeks, Jorge Luis Vilchez opened his restaurant to organizers collecting donations to send to his native Venezuela in the wake of the devastating earthquakes that rocked the country in June.
Vilchez told KTSM 9 News days after the relief efforts began, he was doing his best to help provide a space for El Pasoans to bring goods, but also get to know a little more about Venezuelan culture and the people.
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“By doing our part here, lending the restaurant as a collection center, I think we’re contributing so that everyone here in the El Paso community can do their part, both our fellow Venezuelans and Mexicans, Colombians – everyone here in El Paso has come and done their part,” he said.
Vilchez has lived in the United States since 2019; he moved around looking for work until he called El Paso home. According to a family GoFundMe, he’s also waiting on a decision on his asylum case…