Caritas Venezuela
Following the devastating Venezuela earthquake, Caritas delivered food, water, hygiene supplies and medicine to families in need, with volunteers working around the clock to provide critical humanitarian assistance to those facing displacement, loss and uncertainty.
Venezuela earthquake disaster
On 24 June 2026, two major earthquakes struck Venezuela within minutes, killing more than 6,000 people and leaving thousands injured. Homes, buildings and vital infrastructure were severely damaged across Caracas and the country’s central and coastal regions.
The earthquakes intensified an existing humanitarian crisis. Before the disaster, around 7.9 million people already needed assistance, with many families experiencing food shortages, limited healthcare and unreliable basic services.
The earthquakes have placed people who were already vulnerable, including children, older people, pregnant women and people with chronic illnesses, at even greater risk.
Our situation is difficult; we have experienced two earthquakes in the midst of a crisis that has lasted 10 years.
Janeth Márquez, Executive Director of Cáritas Venezuela
In affected communities, local Church parishes were among the first places people turned to for help.
Parishes opened their doors to shelter displaced families and distributed emergency supplies wherever they could. This immediate, community-led action created a foundation for a broader response coordinated through Caritas Venezuela.
Caritas Venezuela has long had a presence in communities across the country, including remote and hard-to-reach areas. It has been working in the country since 1963 and is present in all states across the country through its Diocesan network. Prior to the earthquake, the organisation was supporting over 60,000 vulnerable households amid an economic crisis that saw 7.9 million people already requiring humanitarian assistance before the earthquakes struck.
The Caritas Venezuela response delivered 17,808 full emergency assistance kits for families, 10,820 food kits and 6,988 hygiene kits. More than 6.8 million litres of water were also distributed, together with 96,000 units of medicines and medical supplies for hospitals and healthcare facilities.
Monsignor José Luis Azuaje Ayala, President of Caritas Venezuela, spoke of the scale of the disaster and the hope found in solidarity: “We are visiting the affected areas, as you can see, the scale of which has truly shaken us, sharing the suffering of the people and above all looking forward to the solidarity of the Venezuelan people is what fills us with hope at all times.”
He appealed for people to remain united with affected communities: “So our appeal to you, especially from Caritas, the Catholic Church and all the volunteers who are doing the good in these communities, is simply to keep being in solidarity, to continue truly being in communion, fostering communion amongst everyone, and not to forget that there are thousands upon thousands of people who are in need and need us all.”
As emergency relief continues and recovery begins, solidarity will remain vital for families whose needs will extend far beyond the first weeks of the crisis.
Your donation can help
Provide emergency food and water for displaced families
Supply hygiene kits and other emergency necessities
Support long-term recovery after the disaster
Ways to get involved
Take on a 40-day walking challenge this Lent. Bring clean, safe water to people around the world.
Sign up as a school, and raise funds to help people who have to walk to collect water every day.
Be the host with the most this Lent. Raise funds to change the lives of people living in poverty.
