Venezuela Earthquake Response: RTM Venezuela Brings Aid, Broadcasting and Hope

After Venezuela's earthquakes left more than 20,000 homeless, RTM Venezuela has been there — with supplies, with Bibles and with the message that earthly need and eternal hope go hand in hand.

By the Numbers: The Scale of the Disaster

As the death toll mounts and tens of thousands remain homeless in the aftermath of twin earthquakes on June 24, the team at RTM* Venezuela continues to provide reliable information, tangible assistance and words of hope. 

As of July 20, the earthquakes had been responsible for 5,208 deaths and 16,740 injuries, Agence France-Presse reported, citing official sources. In La Guaira, the state that was hardest-hit, nearly 20,000 people remained homeless, crammed into makeshift camps. NASA satellite images in early July showed nearly 59,000 buildings had been damaged across Venezuela. 

Among those was the office building where RTM Venezuela is based in the city of Maracay. The team has continued to use their offices but with significant complications. Among those are water leaks, structural issues compounded by heavy rains and the fact that both of the building’s elevators are out of service. 

The latter is particularly challenging, given that RTM Venezuela’s offices are on their building’s eighth floor. Nonetheless, the team has continued to work three days a week for five-hour shifts, dodging unpredictable power outages as much as possible. That included carrying boxes of the Alimento Para el Alma (Food for the Soul) devotional down 14 flights of stairs – two flights and a landing between floors – to distribute to displaced families and rescue workers. On the air, the station’s personnel offered special programs letting people know where they could get help and encouraging the broader community to help those in need.

 

On the Ground: Christians Respond Without Hesitation

Team members also got involved in relief work outside of their RTM roles. Bellasaron Herrera, a morning-show host for RTM Venezuela, joined members of her church and a local Baptist congregation to serve one of the hardest-hit areas in La Guaira.  

When the earthquakes struck, Christians responded without hesitation, Herrera said. Local congregations came together to provide practical assistance while sharing the love of Christ with those who needed it most. 

The RTM Venezuela team especially focused on civil defense personnel, providing breakfast meals, drinking water, knee pads, disposable gloves, safety helmets, reflective vests and tools as well as Bibles and evangelistic materials.  

Along with practical assistance, the team took time to listen to the needs of rescue workers and encourage them spiritually, Herrera said. By distributing Bibles and evangelistic resources, they demonstrated that physical relief was accompanied by the hope of the gospel.