Fe y Alegría Confirms 12 Students Dead, 54 Missing From Earthquakes

The Fe y Alegría network of Catholic schools in Venezuela has reported a preliminary toll of 12 students deceased and 54 missing in the aftermath of a significant double earthquake. The seismic event also caused damage to the infrastructure of 19 school facilities across the country.

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Until yesterday, we reported 12 students deceased and 54 missing, and we are permanently monitoring this situation; it is a number that varies. We have 22 educational centers with failures in water and electricity, connectivity has been greatly affected.

Yaika Weber, head of Educational Services for Fe y Alegría, detailed the initial impact, noting that the numbers are subject to change as monitoring continues. Beyond the student casualties, 22 educational centers are experiencing disruptions to essential services like water and electricity, significantly affecting connectivity.

In response, Fe y Alegría has mobilized an emergency committee to oversee the situation across its 176 national schools, which collectively serve over 100,000 students. The organization is repurposing its secure schools as temporary shelters for those displaced and is actively organizing the collection of humanitarian aid for affected families. Weber emphasized a person-centered response, including psycho-emotional support rooted in their spirituality, and is working closely with the newly formed Commission for the Evaluation of Housing and Infrastructure Habitability for inspections and assessments.

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The response plan is person-centered. Psycho-emotional support from our spirituality, conducting all inspections and assessments with the entity that was created, the Commission for the Evaluation of the habitability of Housing and Infrastructures, which has provided us with extraordinary support.

The Ministry of Education has announced the termination of academic activities in the most affected areas. Fe y Alegría stated its full alignment with this directive, implementing differentiated plans for zones with less severe damage. In areas like Caracas, La Guaira, Aragua, Carabobo, and Miranda, where significant impact occurred, the network is developing a multimodal attention plan to support students and conclude the academic year.

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We are totally aligned with the Ministry's disposition. We have differentiated treatment in the zones where there was not great affectation; we continue with our programming. We were finishing the school year at the different levels, we were going to be until the 17th, so we have differentiated plans for the Caracas, La Guaira, Aragua, Carabobo, and Miranda zones, where we are implementing a multimodal attention plan and will be concluding and providing support.