Venezuela Red Cross anticipates 24 months of work for earthquake recovery

The Venezuelan Red Cross is preparing for a long-term commitment to aid those impacted by earthquakes that struck on June 24. The organization estimates a 24-month work plan to provide essential support in health, water, sanitation, hygiene, supplies, and psychological care to hundreds of people.

Luis Manuel Farías, the organization's president, emphasized the sustained effort required, stating, "Rescue teams leave, but the Red Cross teams stay." He highlighted the opportunity to enhance the institution's capabilities, drawing on the dedication of approximately 4,000 active volunteers across the country. Farías noted that these challenging situations ultimately strengthen the organization, enabling them to reach more remote areas beyond the main disaster zone.

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Rescue teams leave, but the Red Cross teams stay.

The volunteers themselves are not immune to the tragedy's effects. Many have faced personal emergencies, tending to their own families or neighbors before joining the relief efforts. These volunteers work in two daily shifts, with 600 people participating per shift. Farías acknowledged the profound personal toll, admitting, "Everyone is affected, they are not aliens. We have volunteers working who lost everything, their whole family. This is an institution that did not emerge unscathed, it emerged battered."

In the initial days, the Red Cross handled 2,100 calls from individuals searching for missing relatives and received applications from around 17,000 aspiring volunteers. The organization, part of the global Red Cross and Red Crescent movement, is also undergoing a significant restructuring initiated two years prior. The national team has expanded from seven people to 74 before the earthquakes, with plans to double that number. Support from international Red Cross branches in Spain, Germany, and Norway was already aiding this capacity-building process before the disaster.

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Everyone is affected, they are not aliens. We have volunteers working who lost everything, their whole family. This is an institution that did not emerge unscathed, it emerged battered.