In Venezuela, youth act as a bulwark against state neglect

In Venezuela, students are stepping in to address severe state deficiencies, particularly after a devastating earthquake on June 24th claimed over 2,595 lives. Amidst the government's shortcomings, young people are organizing and providing essential services.

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How is it that my university course is the only one in the country to offer a mandatory course in disaster medicine, when Venezuela is in a seismic zone?

Henrimar Henriquez, a 25-year-old medical student at the Central University of Venezuela (UCV), founded Alamo in 2025. Her initiative aims to teach disaster medicine fundamentals, a subject she found alarmingly absent from most Venezuelan curricula despite the country's seismic activity. "We had a precedent in 1999 with the Vargas landslide, you'd think we'd be better prepared," Henriquez stated, noting her frustration that such a critical topic was overlooked.

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We had already experienced a precedent in 1999, during the Vargas landslide, you'd think we'd be better prepared. It struck me a lot that such an important subject had not been taken into account.

Henriquez's project, named after a resilient tree, quickly expanded with workshops. "The group was very well received because it was innovative; no one had thought of it," she explained. "We were born out of a gap, with a simple goal: to raise awareness about the importance of preparing for natural disasters."

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The group was very well received because it was innovative; no one had thought of it. We were born out of a gap, with a simple goal: to raise awareness about the importance of preparing for natural disasters.

Tragically, the reality of disaster struck just a year later. The June 24th earthquakes, magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, devastated Venezuela, especially La Guaira. With thousands injured, displaced, or missing, Henriquez and her 22 volunteers found their training tragically relevant. Arriving in La Guaira on June 25th, she attempted to help her relatives, only to find they had perished. "We tried to do everything possible, without gloves, without helmets, but I felt a lot of frustration," she recalled, realizing how much more her group could have done with proper resources.

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We tried to do everything possible, without gloves, without helmets, but I felt a lot of frustration. Amidst the destruction, I told myself that my group and I could have done more.