Helping Our Fellow Humans, From The Heart Of One Community To Another ❤️

Heather Wilson

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22d • Admin only posts

Hey, good morning everyone. How are you all doing? You can read this or listen into the video.

And apologies we are still having some awful weather here and its interfering with the internet.

I'm back so early already, but this is because one of our lovely member,

@Vanessa Escobar

, has asked me to share a post with you all. And she did say just to share the post, but I wanted to do a video on this as well because I think as a community here and knowing how the world is at the moment and knowing that some people are going through some terrible times, sometimes we need to pull together and definitely help each other out where we can.

So Vanessa Escobar is originally from Venezuela. She's currently living in Argentina, but she has family back in Venezuela, and as we know, they have been going through a pretty shite time, if I'm honest. And I've had a lovely conversation with Vanessa about what life has been like in Venezuela before she moved to Argentina for a better life. And I don't know how they cope with it, to be honest, I really don't.

However, sadly, there have been 2 consecutive earthquakes there measuring 7.2 and 7.5, and they struck Venezuela on June 24th.

Now, the reason I decided to speak about this is because I come from, as Heather DeRocco would say, the shaky islands. In New Zealand, you know, we experience earthquakes, and I have been in a massive earthquake of this size, but luckily not near the epicenter. But it was enough to scare the shit out of me, if I'm honest.

So Vanessa's asked me to share this, and I'm going to read the rest of the message for you. And there is a message in here asking for help. So I'm hoping as a community that we can find it in our hearts to help people out. I don't know if you have seen the videos on the news, but it is shocking. Literally, buildings have pancaked, which means the top floor would have got most of the shaking and has fallen on top and it's all collapsed. And that is the worst scenario possible for people to be rescued in because they are under like 15+ floors of concrete and debris.

I know here in New Zealand after our last massive one in Christchurch, which kicked it off, we have had big ones since then. But we have had to demolish a lot of buildings here because they were not earthquake-proof. But obviously, we have a very different government, fortunately, in comparison to what Venezuela have had to suffer.

So the epicentre in— and I apologise if I'm saying these names wrong— Yaracuy, about 250 kilometres west of the country's capital, Caracas. Following the disaster, Acting President Rodriguez declared a national state of emergency and designated that state as a disaster zone, as it was the hardest-hit area.

So that's the hardest-hit area. There are still other areas around impacted because this was the epicentre. And I know how being in an earthquake when you're not in the epicentre, but you are in the outer rings, there is still a lot of damage and mental effect on your emotions as well.

According to a preliminary assessment by the US Geological Survey, the potential death toll could range between 10,000 and 100,000 people. The situation in Venezuela is very serious. And unfortunately, my country doesn't have the resources to deal with another crisis, especially one of this magnitude.

And if you know the history, the recent history of Venezuela, you will understand why there hasn't been those resources. Although the city where I grew up wasn't affected and my family and friends are safe, the situation has been heartbreaking. Not only because so many people and animals have lost their lives, but also because many of those who survived have lost everything they owned in a country where starting over is almost impossible.

Even so, Venezuelans are incredibly resilient. Thank God for that. And I truly believe many will recover over time, but they will need help and they need help now. Several countries have already sent rescue teams, humanitarian aid, and essential supplies, and more support is on the way.

One thing you have to understand is that when this happens and we get the rescue teams and humanitarian support and essential supplies, it is literally the basics, okay? And I know that's what people need, the basics, but those basics are not enough, especially in these first initial days and weeks. And as time goes on, these places are forgotten. The devastation is forgotten because it's not put in front of us all the time. And it's after this initial stage that people really do need help because they become the forgotten. That’s from me, not from Vanessa.

If you'd like to help, you can donate through this foundation, which has launched a GoFundMe campaign. They have already raised $2 million, which is amazing in that time. And it may sound like a lot, but it still isn't. And again, when you really look into what's happened in Venezuela, that's not really going to touch much, to be honest, and it's not going to help people recover and start over.

And Vanessa has looked into this and she said based on her research, this is a trustworthy organisation. So any contributions, no matter how small, will reach the people who need it most. And remember, from most of the countries that we are in, our money will go a lot further over there in Venezuela.

Of course, there are other ways to donate, but this is the one that seems the most reliable and fastest. So I'm going to pop those links in. And I would love it if, if you can, find it in your heart to pop in and give a donation on the links that Vanessa has given us. And yeah, have a look at what's going on over there. And anything would be gratefully received. And that's the end of this message.

Here are the links:

❤️ Donate:https://gofund.me/ece1ee8b0

📱 WeLove Foundation on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/welove_foundation/?hl=en

Thank you so much for your support. ❤️

7:12

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Helping Our Fellow Humans, From The Heart Of One Community To Another ❤️