Español
On June 24, 2026, Venezuela suffered a devastating double earthquake, which had a particularly severe impact on the coast of La Guaira and parts of Caracas. It is estimated that the catastrophe left a tragic toll of more than 6,400 fatalities, thousands of injured, and a large number of people reported missing in the first few weeks.
In response to this major natural disaster, and at the request for support made by fellow facilitators in that country, GFSC mobilized, sought resources, and —thanks to generous donations from the Advisory Board and other Volunteers and Friends in our network— we were able to carry out a training program on the Crisis Model – Change – Choice Model in the city of Caracas in September 2026.
The program consisted of an in-person training session held on September 21, 22, and 23, 2026, aimed at a group of 21 local professionals from various disciplines affiliated with 15 organizations and institutions in that country, some of whom were independent professionals. The partner organization in Caracas was Facilitarte Procesos, which was responsible for organizing and selecting the participants, as well as managing the logistics, with support from the Venezuela sin Límites Foundation. The workshop was facilitated by: Miriam Castillo P. (GFSC coordinator for Latin America), Gladys Y. Quintero (director of Facilitarte Procesos and volunteer facilitator for GFSC), and Ximena Combariza E. (member of the GFSC Board of Directors), with support from Angel Rodriguez in managing all event logistics.
All participants rated the workshop very positively, noting that they had learned new and useful tools and techniques to continue supporting the various communities affected by the earthquakes that struck their country on June 24, 2026. In addition, at the end of the workshop, the participants —divided into small groups— planned several projects to support the psychosocial recovery of the various communities affected by the earthquakes. As usual, GFSC facilitators will accompany these projects as mentors and will monitor their progress, with the aim of ensuring that a large number of people and communities affected by earthquakes or other crises benefit from GFSC’s services and expertise in the field of community psychosocial recovery following disasters and crises.
