All Hands & Hearts: A group providing aid 100 days after Venezuela’s earthquakes

La Guaira, Venezuela — Nearly 100 days after twin earthquakes struck Venezuela’s northern coast, killing over 6,500 people according to government figures, All Hands & Hearts, a U.S. non-profit, is still providing support to affected Venezuelans. The company originally began aid efforts right after the quakes, helping with building infrastructure, distributing water filters, food and other basic supplies. Now, they are preparing to launch a second phase in October, which focuses on providing education to children in the most hard-hit areas. “There are many needs. In my experience, this is one of the largest disasters I have ever seen,” Aymeric Chalopin, who leads the organization’s mission in Venezuela, told Latin America Reports at El Campito, a makeshift camp for displaced people in La Guaira. Chalopin has experience in some of the world’s worst disasters. He helped after Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in 2018, Mexico’s 2024 earthquake, and Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica last year. His experience in Venezuela has been a bit different due to the country’s years of economic, political and social crisis that pre-dated the earthquake. “I think the word that comes up often is ‘complicated,’” he said. Tireless work All Hands & Hearts, which was founded in 2005 by tech CEO David Campbell and model Petra Němcová following the tsunami in Thailand the year prior, has had a presence in various affected communities in Venezuela, including Caracas, La Guaira and Aragua. They said they’re currently managing around 150 different initiatives related to water access, sanitation and hygiene. This includes installing temporary showers, cleaning, and distributing personal hygiene kits; building wash stations; and providing water purification systems and filters — efforts they say have helped 77,000 people. In addition to the human toll, the government of interim President Delcy Rodríguez has reported 60,785 affected homes, 11,000 of which were classified as high-risk. The NGO said 7,000 people have received shelter aid — including tents, elevated platforms to sleep out of the rain, mattresses, and other items — at some of the camps set up throughout the affected cities, and some 50,000 people have received food aid. In all, they estimate that 200,000 people have received aid from the NGO thus far in the country. As the fall out from the disaster drags on, the NGO workers are now thinking about what comes next for affected Venezuelans. “The water issue is quite critical. They ask us when it will arrive here and how long this situation will last, and they also wonder: ‘What will the children do? When will they go back to school?’” Chalopin said. Heading into phase two of their relief efforts, All Hands & Hearts said one of their priorities is to support children’s education in vulnerable areas. They are working to establish learning spaces within the camps. According to data from the 2025 National Survey on Living Conditions (Encovi) conducted by the Andrés Bello Catholic University (UCAB), 1.2 million children and adolescents had been out of school prior to the earthquakes. The NGO said it’s also currently in talks with civil society organizations such as Fe y Alegría and the Venezuelan Association for Catholic Education (AVEC) to assist in repairing damaged schools. Chalopin emphasized that it is important not to forget the people of La Guaira, as their way of life in the wake of the earthquake is far from easy. Ultimately, their goal, he said, is to support people when they need it most and the NGO requires resources to carry out their work. “We’re not here to steal the spotlight; we’re not here to say we’re the best and know everything. We’re just here to help people,” he concluded. Featured image: All Hands & Hearts team at El Campito, a makeshift camp for displaced people in La Guaira. Image credit: Julio Blanca for Latin America Reports.