When disaster strikes, the first days are often defined by urgent needs: treating injuries, finding shelter, securing food and water, and searching for loved ones. But when those immediate needs subside, another difficult chapter starts. Families must figure out how to reconstruct homes, restore routines, and recover from everything they have lost.
In Venezuela*, that process is only beginning. Months after two devastating earthquakes struck the northern part of the country just 39 seconds apart, thousands of people are trying to rebuild their lives. Tragically, more than 5,200 people perished, nearly 16,800 were injured, and more than 17,900 remain homeless.
Our Salesian missionaries have been there since the earliest hours of the disaster, initially opening parishes and educational centers to those seeking shelter and distributing food, water, medicine and hygiene supplies. Now, their work is shifting toward the long road of helping families rebuild.
One new initiative will provide six months of assistance to 680 families facing severe hardship in Caracas, La Guaira and Carabobo. Families will receive food, drinking water, hygiene supplies, medicine and emergency financial assistance. Salesians are also establishing safe spaces for children and providing psychosocial care and educational activities to help young people regain a sense of normalcy after months of upheaval.
Recovery also requires restoring community spaces that people rely on. At the La Dolorita Salesian complex in Petare, earthquake damage affected classrooms and a wall supporting the surrounding hill. Repairs will strengthen the structure against future earthquakes while restoring educational and pastoral spaces used by nearly 2,000 people.
Father Michael Conway, Director of Salesian Missions, emphasizes that some of the most important work happens long after a disaster disappears from the headlines. “As weeks turn into months, the challenges families face evolve — but their needs remain just as urgent. This is when we have an opportunity to help people move beyond surviving the emergency and begin restoring the parts of life that were disrupted.”
For families who have lost homes, possessions and livelihoods, recovery will not happen quickly. But each repaired building, reopened learning space, and family receiving continued assistance represents another piece of life being restored and another step toward moving forward.
Learn more about our work in Venezuela.
Watch a video of how we are bringing hope to families as they recover.
Our mission is to provide long-term recovery support for victims of catastrophic disasters and unthinkable tragedies. What’s your mission?
*Any goods, services, or funds provided by Salesian Missions to programs located in this country were administered in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including sanctions administered by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control.