What you need to know

• Two earthquakes in June killed more than 6,100 people and displaced 23,000 people in Venezuela.
• The earthquakes caused an estimated US$37 billion in damage and were the deadliest to hit Venezuela since 1812.
• Two months later, children and families are still rebuilding their lives and coping with the emotional impact of the disaster.
• Through our partner organizations, Plan International is supporting children and families while helping share their stories with the world.

Living through the Venezuela earthquakes: “History split into two moments”

“Take your camera and do your work.”

Those were the words Alejandra’s father told her in the hours after the Venezuela earthquakes struck on June 24. Around her, familiar streets had been reduced to rubble.

For 16 hours, Alejandra had no power – not even a signal on her phone. The only news came through a radio, transforming static into vital information with the turn of a knob.

She was scared. But Alejandra, a recent journalism graduate, knew she had a role to play.

Encouraged by her father’s words, she picked up her camera and headed into neighbourhoods she used to visit with friends on weekends – places that had suddenly been transformed by disaster.

A month later, when we spoke with her, Alejandra wasn’t eager to talk about collapsed buildings or the chaos of those first days. Instead, she talked about people: The communities that came together to help one another. The children trying to reclaim small pieces of normal life. The mothers who asked for nothing for themselves as long as their families were safe.

Hers was the first of three conversations we had with people in Venezuela that offered a behind-the-scenes look at how Plan International helps, with the support of donors, to document a crisis, aid families through recovery, and ensure the world doesn’t turn away.

The Storyteller: Finding hope after the earthquake

Alejandra lives in El Junquito, in the north central region of Venezuela and one of the areas most affected by the earthquakes. Streets she had walked for years were suddenly unrecognizable.

“It changed the space completely,” she says. “Like history split into two moments.”

Each day, Alejandra photographed what she saw and interviewed families trying to make sense of their new reality. Through media outlets and organizations like Plan International, she helped bring their stories to the wider world.

The scenes were overwhelming.

“I can’t describe it. It was something really hard, the smell of La Guaira. It smelled like corpses,” she says. “You had to use a face mask because the smell was really strong. There was dust everywhere. It was hard to imagine going on in your life knowing that an entire city is completely changed.”

Yet what stayed with her most wasn’t the destruction.

Across Venezuela, communities came together to help one another. People donated supplies. Neighbours cleared roads. Volunteers cooked meals for rescue teams, some of whom spent 40 continuous hours digging through rubble searching for signs — any signs — of life.

Comedians visited temporary settlements to make children laugh. World Cup matches were broadcast to bring people together. In a country grappling with immense loss, people were finding ways to give children small pieces of their childhoods back.

As a communications consultant working with one of Plan International’s local partner organizations, Alejandra paid particular attention to the experiences of girls. Those interviews struck a deep chord.

“I can see myself in these girls,” she said. “I can understand the innocence they have at that age, and I want to relieve their suffering.”

One girl in particular stayed with her.

Sara is 14 years old. Just days after the earthquakes, she began helping at a distribution centre set up in a school, bringing food, water, and medicine to families in her community. Like others helping that day, she was coping with her own losses, but still chose to come out and help others. For Alejandra, Sara became a symbol of the generosity in the face of loss that she is seeing everywhere.

Alejandra also learned something important about storytelling. “Even people who have lost family members and are grieving, they want to be seen, for someone to hear them,” she says.

And when asked what she wished people around the world understood about the crisis in Venezuela, her answer was simple: “Every bit of help is important. No matter how small, it matters.”

The Social Worker: Helping children heal

While Alejandra helps people tell their stories, Geraldine spends her days listening to them.

A social worker and humanitarian response worker, Geraldine has spent weeks meeting families affected by the earthquakes and helping connect them with support.

The first four days after the earthquake were, in her words, “crazy.”

On the first evening, Geraldine, who lives in the area most affected by the earthquakes, spent the entire night with her neighbours in the street, afraid to return to their homes. When the children were too scared to sleep, Geraldine kicked a ball around with them for hours. In the days after, 12 people – including children, older adults, and their pets – squeezed into her apartment, sharing clean water, warm meals, and conversation.

“It was really obviously chaotic,” she recalled. “But it was very comforting because we were all together and we knew we were all okay.”

When Geraldine talks about recovery, she talks about children.

“Children are still children in any situation,” she said. “Adults think about food, coats, and a roof over their head. Children grieve that they have lost their toys and games.”

She paused.

“They want to know where their family is and when they can go home. And when they’ve lost everything that feels familiar to them, they want to go back to school, because that was their second safe place. But schools are closed. They’ve lost their house – they don’t want to lose another home.”

It’s a perspective that helps explain why psychosocial support from Plan and its local partners is such a critical part of recovery. In transitional camps and communities across the country, children are learning how to process trauma, cope with fear, and adjust to a completely new reality.

One moment has stayed with Geraldine.

In La Guaira, one of the hardest-hit areas, she met a woman with a purple cheek. The woman’s cheekbone had fractured while she threw herself between her child and a collapsing wall.

“I tried to offer her help,” Geraldine recalled. “She said, ‘I’m fine. I don’t need anything as long as my children are okay.’ I saw that again and again.”

But the work takes a toll.

Geraldine attends psychological support sessions that Plan offers to response workers twice a week when she can. At home, she turns to her cat, Maní (Spanish for “peanut”) for comfort. Sometimes she and her partner, also a humanitarian worker, have dinner and promise to talk only about trivial things, like the weather. It’s how they give themselves a break after spending their days listening to stories of loss.

Between the earthquakes’ first and second tremors, she says, “those 39 seconds made us understand that life is shorter than we often think. Now, I try to dedicate quality time to my family.”

The Communicator: Keeping Venezuela in focus

When we spoke with Horacio Garcete, Plan International’s regional communications manager tasked with helping coordinate coverage of the crisis across the Americas, he was finally catching his breath.

For weeks, he and his team had worked around the clock, coordinating interviews, fielding media requests, sharing updates, and helping bring stories from Venezuela to global audiences. When we spoke with him, he told us he had finally gotten his first full night’s sleep in weeks.

At first, that sounded like good news. Then he explained why it wasn’t.

Attention had begun to shift elsewhere. Media inquiries had slowed. The world was moving on. But families in Venezuela were still living with the consequences every day.

His observation highlighted something important: While headlines fade, recovery continues.

And that’s exactly why support from our donors matters so much.

Venezuela is not alone

As our conversations came to an end, we found ourselves thinking less about collapsed buildings and more about people. A young photographer determined to document her country’s recovery. A social worker helping children rediscover a sense of safety. A communications specialist working to make sure the world doesn’t look away. And a 14-year-old girl named Sara, turning her grief into service.

Geraldine left us with one final thought: “We are going to get through this. I don’t know how, but I have faith that we will, because we are not alone.”

Thanks to supporters like you, children and families in Venezuela are not facing recovery alone either. If you are able, please consider donating to support the children and families in need.

Editor’s note: Since this story was written, a major earthquake has also struck Colombia. As Plan responds to urgent needs in Colombia, this story is a reminder of the difference donor support makes, not only in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, but throughout the long recovery that follows.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. How powerful were the earthquakes in Venezuela?

The 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela in June caused widespread destruction across several communities, making them the country’s deadliest earthquakes in more than 200 years.

2. How many people were affected?

More than 6,100 people lost their lives, and an estimated 23,000 people were forced from their homes.

3. How much damage did the earthquakes cause?

The disaster caused an estimated US$37 billion in damage, affecting homes, schools, health facilities, and critical infrastructure.

4. Why are children especially vulnerable after an earthquake?

Disasters like an earthquake can disrupt nearly every aspect of a child’s life. Beyond losing their homes and belongings, many children experience fear, uncertainty, and the loss of safe places like schools and community spaces.

5. Do girls face additional challenges after an earthquake?

Yes. Disruptions to schools, community support networks, and livelihoods can increase girls’ risk of violence, exploitation, child marriage, and dropping out of school.

6. What support is still needed?

Many families continue to need safe shelter, clean water, medical care, and emotional support as they recover from the disaster. Plan and our local partners are also helping children cope with trauma and return to learning.

7. How many people has Plan helped so far?

Through our partner organizations, Plan International has reached 4,298 people affected by the earthquakes.

8. What is the goal of the emergency response?

Plan International and its partners aim to reach 100,000 people with support, including safe water, emergency shelter, child protection services, psychosocial support, and education activities.