How I found hope amidst the rubble of Venezuela’s twin earthquakes – Saleh Saeed

Two people look at burned-out buildings in Caracas after the area was hit by two major earthquakes in quick succession (Picture: Jesus Vargas) | Getty Images

Through my 14 years as chief executive of the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), I have witnessed first hand the widespread devastation from tsunamis, floods, earthquakes and conflicts. But thankfully I have also seen some inspiring humanitarian responses. That same impact hit me once again this week when we reached the Venezuelan port city of La Guaira, the area hardest hit by the dual earthquakes on June 24.

In street after street, neighbourhood after neighbourhood, just about all the homes had been completely flattened, an eerie landscape with little sign of life, just rubble strewn with everyday items that fill all our homes, reminders of normal lives upended in just seconds by two huge earthquakes just over two weeks ago. Clothes, beds, toys and a single dusty homework book, a heartbreaking artefact of one of the countless young lives shattered by these devastating quakes.

As we moved through the city, we passed by parks full of tents, huge queues for food and even people clambering up an open face of a precarious, leaning tower block, taking risks to try to save even a few of their treasured possessions.

READ MORE: Venezuela earthquake appeal: How you can continue Scotland's proud tradition of standing with those in need

A real sense of urgency

It would be completely understandable if you lived in this city, to be overwhelmed, to think there is no way back. But that’s not we’ve seen. There is a real sense of urgency to the accelerating aid response, I’ve seen how DEC member charities are working with local organisations to provide a wide range of essential support for the hundreds of thousands of people in desperate need.

We saw World Vision colleagues distributing food parcels and hygiene kits. The woman coordinating their efforts told us that around 60 people she knows have died but she presses on with her work.

At a nearby baseball stadium, we spoke to members of the Venezuelan Red Cross who were setting up a field hospital. Working alongside many other aid agencies in the coming days, they will be able to help hundreds of the most seriously injured and triage others who may need to be sent to any operational hospitals for more specialised treatment.

Christian Aid are working through a network of long-established Venezuelan relief organisations. They are delivering water filters, which are, of course, crucial to help stop the spread of disease that all too often takes hold in the weeks after disasters on this scale when water systems have been destroyed.

For those who are likely to be in tents for some time to come, they are also providing mattresses and blankets. Other members are distributing household essentials, including solar lighting to help reassure people through the long nights ahead.

It has been so heartening to see many of the DEC’s 15 UK charity members work together, weaving their specialist knowledge and experience with organisations known and trusted by local communities to find the most effective way to deliver the most appropriate response right now.

In Caracas, DEC charity World Vision is supporting more than 60 children who are staying in a temporary shelter | World Vision Venezuela

Helping children be children again

But that is just the start. Vast tracts of Venezuela’s shattered infrastructure will have to be carefully rebuilt, and businesses helped back to their feet. Probably most importantly of all, the people and children, who may be too preoccupied right now to even process their emotions, will need psychological support to come to terms with what has happened to them and the uncertain future they face.

Many DEC members have great expertise in supporting children through this process, providing them with spaces where they feel a little safer, where children can be children again, where they can play, learn – and perhaps start to talk about their feelings with others and look forward to their futures with a little more hope. Money donated today to our appeal will allow this type of support to continue in the crucial months to come.

This is the Disasters Emergency Committee’s 80th appeal, coming almost 60 years to the day after four UK charities got together in response to a similarly devastating earthquake in Turkey in 1966. This unique model of collaboration between humanitarian charities, broadcasters and other media organisations, like The Scotsman, helps spread our appeal for support far and wide and remains a hugely effective way to raise money quickly, so we can save and protect lives now and into the future.

We are also hugely grateful that this work is supported by the Scottish government which donated £250,000 when we launched our appeal last week. We’ve already raised more than £1.3 million in Scotland and with £2m in aid match funding from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the UK total has passed £13m.

On behalf of all the DEC’s members, we say a huge thank you to everyone who supports us. We’ll be leaving Venezuela soon, clear on how much work still needs to be done but hopeful that, with continuing support back home, we will be able to save lives in the coming days and help so many others get back on their feet in the months and years to come. As well as the tens of thousands of homes that need to be rebuilt, there are many more lives and futures that need to be rebuilt too.

If you can, we ask you to donate to the Venezuela Earthquake Appeal right now at our website dec.org.uk or by texting the word HOPE to 70150 to give £10.

Saleh Saeed is chief executive of the Disasters Emergency Committee, a coalition of 15 of UK’s leading aid charities