On June 24, 2026, the unthinkable happened. Two earthquakes, one following quickly after another, left families in Venezuela broken and afraid. Thousands died, and tens of thousands were injured.
We are fortunate that our family members are safe and healthy, although for a while we lived through the fear and uncertainty of not knowing if my grandmother had survived. Many, many other families were not so lucky.
Rescue teams rushed to the scene within days. Venezuelan citizens sifted through the ruins carefully, searching for any sign of life. These rescuers and citizens worked second by second, minute by minute, day and night, and with every passing hour, hope dwindled.
Even now, nearly two months later, Venezuelans are still looking for the bodies of their loved ones that vanished under the rubble.
Venezuela already fragile
As the daughter of two Venezuelans, I, like many others, am deeply impacted by these earthquakes and how deep of a mark they have left on my family and on my country.
Venezuela is a communist country that many descendants, including myself, have never been able to visit because of the already fragile state that it is in. What a lot of people do not realize about this horrible situation is that this is yet another disaster that Venezuela has had to face over the last 30 years.
For instance, In 2014, under the dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro, inflation in Venezuela reached the highest in the world, with an inflation rate of 68.5%. This increased drastically every year, so much so that the inflation rate just last year was 475%. Once one of the richest countries in the world because of its vast natural oil supply, Venezuela soon became a third-world country, its people devastated by poverty.
My first reaction to the earthquakes, like that of many close friends and family, was, “How is Venezuela ever going to recover from this?”
Help comes from Charlotte
While there is no long-term solution as of now, our local community in Charlotte is providing hope and help by taking care of the most immediate needs of the people in Venezuela.
Thanks to the Monsignor McSweeney World Hunger Drive (Read more on page 15) and through the generous donations of our local parishioners, a soup kitchen has been reinstated to provide basic needs in Naiguatá, a small town in a coastal area.
These donations make a great difference and are immensely appreciated by the people, especially for the kids. They feed hundreds a day, taking care of the elderly and orphans, while they attempt to rebuild their lives.
An effort and connection that started eight years ago with the local church of Naiguatá has expanded with the recent events. In Naiguatá, daily Mass is being celebrated in open fields because the church building was destroyed.
There will be several future opportunities to help, but it is crucial for donations to continue coming in, because this is an ongoing effort that needs much attention.
Not only do the donations help, but your prayers and intentions do as well. Seeing videos and pictures of how the support is provided demonstrates the courage and the love of a community coming together in a time of hardship –with your help.
Isabel Lavie, 14, is a parishioner at St. Matthew Church in Charlotte.