SOS VZLA BCN presents its first-week balance and strengthens its humanitarian response
The platform consolidates alliances with organizations on the ground, raises €16,887 and strengthens its humanitarian response from Catalonia.
Barcelona, 3 July 2026. One week after the earthquake that severely affected several areas of Venezuela, the SOS VZLA BCN platform continues to strengthen its humanitarian response from Catalonia, combining fundraising, institutional coordination and support for organizations working directly with affected communities.
Since its creation, the platform has mobilized a structure made up of 32 people organized into six working committees, a Technical Coordination Table and a spokesperson team, with the aim of ensuring an agile, transparent and coordinated response.
As of 2 July, SOS VZLA BCN had raised €16,887 through various solidarity initiatives. These resources are being allocated to humanitarian projects managed by the organizations Ven Da Tu Mano, Meals4Hope and Sismo Ayuda VE, which have a direct presence in affected areas such as La Guaira, Morón, Tucacas and Puerto Cabello.
The priority during this first phase has been to promote financial donations, as they are considered the most effective mechanism for responding quickly to the population’s real needs, avoiding shipments of materials without a safe and guaranteed logistical route.
Medical care where it is most needed
Partner organization Ven Da Tu Mano has concentrated all its operational capacity in La Guaira state, where it maintains permanent medical brigades both in shelters and in hard-to-reach communities.
Its work combines a fixed team, responsible for caring for refugees and identifying the most urgent needs, with a mobile team that provides assistance to those who, due to injuries or physical limitations, cannot travel to care centers.
From César Nieves Stadium, currently converted into a temporary shelter for hundreds of people, Ven Da Tu Mano’s director of operations and logistics, Antonieta Sánchez, explained that the most frequent conditions are related to gastrointestinal disorders, skin infections and treatment of wounds caused by the disaster.
“Risk conditions persist that require continuity of medical brigades and psychological and social support,” she noted.
Immediate response in food and health
For its part, Meals4Hope maintains a response strategy based on needs detected in real time. The organization distributes food, drinking water, hygiene products and supplies for refugees, while providing nutritional support and hydration to rescuers and firefighters through partnerships with local restaurants.
It also supplies masks and energy bars to rescue volunteers and collaborates with several pediatric hospitals by purchasing essential medicines and medical supplies.
The organization also maintains assistance to relocation shelters in Anzoátegui, Lagunillas and San Juan de los Morros, as well as support for communities in Morón, Tucacas and Puerto Cabello, locations that have received less media attention despite existing needs.
Institutional coordination and transparency
In parallel, SOS VZLA BCN has intensified its efforts with public and private institutions, holding meetings with the Generalitat de Catalunya, Barcelona City Council, Sabadell City Council, the Fons Català de Cooperació and other institutional actors. Representatives of the platform also participated in the Parliament of Catalonia, which approved an institutional declaration of support for the Venezuelan people.
The platform also continues to strengthen alliances with national and international humanitarian organizations and is working on updating its transparency mechanisms so that donors can know the destination of each contribution and the progress of funded projects.
While future logistical alternatives for sending material aid are being studied, SOS VZLA BCN maintains its call to prioritize financial donations as the most effective way to respond to the emergency.
The platform reiterated that it will continue to drive solidarity campaigns, strengthen alliances, maintain meetings with public and private bodies and promote all necessary actions so that aid continues to reach those who need it most.
How to contribute
People who wish to make a financial contribution can do so through the following channels:
- Online donation through Meals4Hope
- Bizum: NGO code 11976 (Fundación Meals4Hope)
- Bank transfer:
- Account holder: Fundación Meals4Hope
- Bank: Banco Sabadell
- IBAN: ES47 0081 0065 1400 0212 7418
When making a donation through any of the enabled channels, please use the reference: SOS VZLA BCN.
Concern over retention of supplies
SOS Venezuela BCN expressed concern over reports of alleged retention and intervention of humanitarian resources. According to citizen testimonies and reports from the Francisco Pimentel Coordination and Medical Care Team, restrictions on the entry and distribution of supplies would have been recorded.
The platform called for humanitarian aid to reach affected communities freely, transparently, safely and without political conditions.
Press contact
SOS Venezuela Barcelona
Website: sosvenezuelabarcelona.com
Email: prensa.sosvenezuelabarcelona@gmail.com
Phone:
- Gerali Rodríguez: +34 633 437 848
- Catherine Rijsdijk: +34 654 179 851
- Nina Hernández: +34 645 624 767