{"id":31011,"date":"2026-06-27T19:07:01","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T23:07:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/how-to-help-venezuela-earthquake-relief-efforts-from-philadelphia\/"},"modified":"2026-06-27T19:07:02","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T23:07:02","slug":"how-to-help-venezuela-earthquake-relief-efforts-from-philadelphia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/how-to-help-venezuela-earthquake-relief-efforts-from-philadelphia\/","title":{"rendered":"How to help Venezuela earthquake relief efforts from Philadelphia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? Let us know!<\/a><\/em>\n<\/p>\n

As rescuers in Venezuela race to find survivors trapped beneath collapsed buildings, Venezuelan Americans in the Philadelphia region are mobilizing donations,<\/a> medical supplies and prayers for a country reeling from a pair of deadly earthquakes.\n<\/p>\n

Many feel \u201cdesperate,\u201d watching the disaster unfold from afar, unable to support relief efforts on the ground, said Arianne Bracho, vice president of Casa de Venezuela Philadelphia.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have very little time left to rescue the people that are beneath buildings. You can still hear their cries, you can still see that there is life beneath the rubble,\u201d Bracho said.\n <\/p>\n

The earthquakes struck the South American country Wednesday night, killing more than 1,400 people<\/a> and injuring thousands. Rescue operations continued into Saturday, with more than 68,000 people reported missing<\/a>. International organizations consider the first 48 to 72 hours as critical for being able to rescue people alive \u2014 a window that draws to a close Saturday night.\n<\/p>\n

Casa de Venezuela Philadelphia, along with local organizations Casa de Venezuela Delaware and Gente de Venezuela, have joined forces with a national network to raise funds for search and rescue tools and first responders.\u00a0<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

Bracho said the fundraising organizers<\/a> are coordinating with people on the ground in La Guaira, one of the areas most affected by the 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes, as well as a hardware supplier in the country that can provide and distribute the materials.\n<\/p>\n

The three local organizations are also collecting medicines and medical supplies<\/a> ahead of a Catholic mass at 12:30 p.m. Sunday<\/a> at the Cathedral Basilica Saints Peter and Paul.\n<\/p>\n

Bracho said some organizers are focusing first on the most urgent needs. She said priorities might change as the situation evolves, and she urged people throughout Greater Philadelphia to follow the organizations\u2019 relief efforts on social media for updates.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a tragedy that is not going to require our support just one time,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s not only a box of medicine or a bag of clothes or food supplies \u2026 Right now we\u2019re thinking about the people trapped, the people that are beneath the rubble and need to be dug out, people in the hospitals needing medicine \u2026 This is the first phase, but then later comes the phase of what is going to happen to the people who lost their home. You have to rebuild.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Bracho said her family members in Venezuela are physically safe following the disaster, but she knows many people who have lost their homes and whose loved ones are missing or dead.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is one of the most difficult things about migrating: To not be able to be there in the moment when they most need you, when people need your support the most and you can\u2019t be there in your country,\u201d she said.\n<\/p>\n

Bracho said she believes ongoing economic struggles and the governance of former President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, who was captured by the U.S. military in January, created conditions that intensified the damage from the natural disaster.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a natural disaster, and there is no human force that would have been able to have power over this,\u201d she said. \u201cBut if a country has resources, has management, has the capacity to think of its people, this would have been less impactful.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Sunday\u2019s mass will be one source of comfort and community for Venezuelans in Philadelphia, Bracho said.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to unite and ask the universe, ask God, whatever god you consider, to put their hand on the Venezuelan people and that we can come out of this terrible tragedy that once again impacts the people of Venezuela,\u201d she said. \u201cIn these past 26, 27 years, we\u2019ve experienced one tragedy after another, one problem after another, one situation after another, and people are truly worn out.\u201d\n <\/p>\n