vENEZUELA EARTHQUAKE RELIEF FAQs
What happened in Venezuela? On June 24, 2026, two earthquakes struck north-central Venezuela less than a minute apart — a magnitude 7.2 followed by a 7.5 — the most powerful tremor the country has recorded in more than a century. Buildings collapsed in Caracas and across the central region, and a state of emergency was declared. The disaster fell on a country already living through one of the longest humanitarian emergencies in the hemisphere.
Who is my donation helping right now? Your donation reaches the people the earthquakes have hit hardest, channeled through trusted contacts and groups already working on the ground. For now, most of it is going to the rescue effort — for as long as there is a chance of finding people alive. Right now, that support is reaching:
A trusted, organized group that travels to La Guaira every day to deliver tools and equipment in support of rescue teams, mobile medical teams, and logistics crews. Through them, your contributions have purchased power generators, rescue tools, and Starlink antennas, among other essentials.
Covering the transport and tools for a rescue team from Puerto La Cruz to La Guaira, arranged through another trusted contact.
Directly to the organization caring for children who have been left without families.
Directly to the organization attending to the needs of older adults, many of them now alone after years of migration.
Families displaced by the disaster who are now in shelter camps in La Guaira (we also supported families that had been sheltering in Parque del Este, but not anymore), through our contacts on the ground.
Purchasing equipment for a professional, specialized rescue team operating in Venezuela.
Sustaining an operation that gives a dignified resting pause to rescuers and nurses now camping at the Forum stadium in La Guaira, in scarce sanitary conditions. They are taken to a house set up to offer them a chance to shower, eat a home-cooked meal, rest, wash their clothes, and recharge to continue their work in the disaster area.
The equipment already purchased keeps working: as the search winds down in one area, teams move the generators, tools, and antennas to the places where rescue is still underway. As needs shift, we have bought portable antennas to support the medical teams that move from site to site to care for the victims.
Together, these efforts reach both the immediate victims of the disaster — the injured, the trapped, and the displaced — and those left most vulnerable in its wake, among them children left without families and older adults now living alone.
What does the emergency response look like right now? In the first days after a disaster, lives are saved or lost by how fast help arrives. We are supporting medical teams on the ground who are traveling to the disaster sites to treat victims where they are — and, just as critically, we are funding the logistics that make those missions possible: moving personnel, medicine, and equipment to places that are hard to reach in the aftermath of the earthquakes. Medical missions in under-resourced settings are work we have supported for years; in this emergency, we are helping those teams move faster and reach farther.
What about older adults? They are part of this response, too. One of the organizations we fund attends to the needs of older adults — many of them now alone, their children and families among the millions who left Venezuela in recent years. At first, most of our help went to the rescue effort while there was still a chance of finding people alive, but we have not lost sight of those left most vulnerable in the aftermath.
Why don't you name the partner organizations? We are intentionally not naming our partners in public materials. Protecting the identity of certain allies, so they can keep serving their communities, is a long-standing commitment of ours — not a new decision prompted by this disaster. In the current operating environment, that discretion is how we safeguard the people who carry out this work on the ground and the people they serve. It is a deliberate, responsible choice — not a lack of transparency — and we ask our donors to trust that protecting our partners is part of doing this work well.
Have you worked with these partners before? Yes, with some — for more than ten years. Across that decade, Saludos Connection has worked alongside several trusted organizations in Venezuela, through medical missions, aid drives, and previous crises, including the hardest months of the pandemic. In response to these earthquakes, we reactivated our work with the partners best placed to respond — both the medical teams reaching the disaster sites and those who specialize in caring for older adults. This is not an improvised response; it is built on relationships already tested under pressure.
How does my donation actually reach people in Venezuela? Funds are channeled directly from Saludos Connection to our trusted partners on the ground — the medical teams responding at the disaster sites and the organizations caring for older adults — who use them to deliver care, purchase supplies, and cover the logistics of reaching the affected areas. The path is short and direct by design — fewer steps, faster help.
Why purchase supplies locally instead of shipping them from the U.S.? The supplies that save lives right now — medicine, food, water, hygiene and first-aid essentials — already exist inside Venezuela. What is missing is not the goods but the means to acquire them quickly, where they are needed. Buying locally avoids a cross-border logistics chain that simply cannot move fast enough in an emergency, and it puts help on a doorstep in days rather than weeks. Moving money on the ground also helps the fragile economy keep running. Next steps include shipping supplies.
What will my donation fund? Two things. For the immediate response: support for the medical teams treating victims and the logistics that get them to the disaster sites. For sustained care: essentials for older adults in crisis — medicine, food, clean water, and hygiene and first-aid items — prioritized by our partners according to the needs they see firsthand.
Is my donation tax-deductible? Yes. Saludos Connection is a registered 501(c)(3) public charity (EIN 82-0678031). Donations are tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by U.S. law.
Will my employer match my gift? Many employers match charitable donations through platforms like this one — which means your gift may reach twice as many people at no extra cost to you. Check your company's matching program when you give; they might have one already. And please give to any organization that aligns with your values.
Is there a fundraising goal or deadline? This is an open, rolling fund. Because the need is urgent and evolving, every contribution goes to work as it arrives, for as long as the relief effort requires it.
Can I donate goods instead of money? Right now, financial gifts are far more effective than in-kind donations. The fastest, most flexible way to help is to fund the response on the ground, so our partners can secure exactly what is needed — supplies, care, or transport — the moment it is needed.
How do I know my donation is used responsibly? Saludos Connection has spent a decade building bridges between Houston, Venezuela, and the diaspora, and we direct these funds through partners we know and have worked with for years. We protect our partners' identities, but we do not compromise on our responsibility to you: your gift goes to emergency relief — medical response and care for older adults — full stop. We will provide donors with reports on how their donations are used.
How can I help beyond donating? Share this fund. Relief multiplies when it is shared — tell a colleague, ask your employer about matching, and help one more person in Venezuela know that someone, somewhere, did not look away.
