La Guaira / Mohammed Amin Janik / Anadolu

** Clinical psychologist Mariana Vegas to Anadolu:

- The goal of our volunteer work is to support children after the earthquake and put a smile on their faces

- The team works to provide a space where children feel they are not alone

** Volunteer Merliandriana Quintero to Anadolu:

- We managed to rescue a friend of ours from under the rubble after she had given birth just 18 days earlier

- I don't think there's a feeling more wonderful than being able to help others, even if your contribution is small

Doctors and psychologists continue their volunteer efforts to support children affected by the double earthquake in the Venezuelan city of La Guaira, by organizing psychological and recreational activities inside shelters, aiming to alleviate the psychological effects left by the disaster.

In their interviews with Anadolu, volunteers in the Playa Grande area of La Guaira described the nature of the activities they organize and the impact of the double earthquake on Venezuelan children, expressing satisfaction with the humanitarian work they are doing.

On Thursday, the president of the Venezuelan National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, announced in a statement that the number of victims in Venezuela had risen to 4,118 dead from the double earthquake that struck the country on June 24 last.

Search and rescue operations continue in the country, amid fears of further rises in the numbers of dead and injured.

** 'Not Alone'

For her part, clinical psychologist Mariana Vegas told Anadolu that the goal of the initiative is to provide support to children and youth after the double earthquake and put a smile on their faces, stressing that this is the essence of their mission.

Vegas added on the sidelines of her volunteer participation that they do not only provide humanitarian aid, such as food and hygiene supplies, but also provide initial psychological first aid and help children overcome stages of grief and express their feelings in a safe environment.

Regarding the nature of their work, she affirmed that volunteer teams visit shelters in La Guaira and the capital Caracas, where they organize recreational activities for children and encourage them to express their feelings through drawing and coloring.

She continued: 'We sometimes encounter special cases of children who have lost their parents and become orphans.'

She explained that most of the children participating in the activities have lost their homes or their homes have become uninhabitable, adding: 'That is why we try to stand by them, support them, and accompany them in this phase.'

She also noted that the team works to provide a space where children feel they are not alone, emphasizing the importance of caring for their feelings and helping them overcome stages of grief.

The support is not limited to affected children but also includes their families, as they are helped to adapt to the new reality, according to the psychologist.

** A 'Very Painful' Reality

Regarding the repercussions of the double earthquake, Vegas said: 'Children's lives have completely changed; they no longer go to school, and some have lost neighbors or family members.'

She added in this context: 'They no longer have a home, and it's not just about the building; they have also lost the place that held their memories and toys.'

'Some children are still wearing the same clothes they had on at the moment of the earthquake,' according to Vegas, who said: 'We were just talking about a child who only has the clothes he is wearing and no longer owns any other clothes.'

She described that as 'very painful.'

Despite that, the children still retain their innocence and pure hearts, as Vegas said: 'Many of them tell us they are happy because they see what is happening as a holiday.'

She added: 'But there are also children who cry, get angry, or act violently, and that is a natural part of their feelings and the great pain they are experiencing.'

She stressed the importance of the continued flow of aid to the affected, expressing her gratitude to all countries and entities that have provided support to Venezuela, and emphasizing the need for this aid to continue.

** 'Wonderful Feeling'

For her part, volunteer Merliandriana Quintero, one of the main organizers of the initiative, said that the team represents a civil initiative that receives financial support from private companies and is working on establishing a center for distributing humanitarian aid in Caracas and La Guaira.

Quintero told Anadolu that she is originally from the capital Caracas, and that the team organizes psychological support activities for children and currently includes ten child psychologists, five volunteer doctors, along with specialists in other fields.

Regarding the reason she came to La Guaira, she said she came to help.

About one moving case, the volunteer said: 'We managed to rescue a friend of ours from under the rubble after she had given birth just 18 days earlier, and from that moment I decided to come here every day to participate in distributing equipment and food supplies and help those affected in various buildings.'

Speaking about her feelings while volunteering, she said: 'I don't think there's a feeling more wonderful than being able to help others, even if your contribution is small. It's enough to see a smile on someone's face and feel that you have eased some of their suffering.'

Regarding the impact of the initiative, the volunteer said that the activities aimed at children gradually help them accept what they have been through, noting that seeing a smile on a child's face is 'the greatest reward' for the volunteers.

She added: 'Venezuela is going through a phase we never thought we would experience, so all forms of international support are very important to us. We still need more help and people to join us and support us during this phase.'

Regarding the time needed to recover from the effects of the double earthquake, she said: 'Everything won't end in one day; the recovery of families who lost loved ones or whose homes were damaged to their normal lives will take months.'

She concluded by saying that recovery from the earthquake's effects in Venezuela will not be achieved in a short period, stressing that it will take a long time.

On June 24, a double earthquake struck Venezuela, the first with a magnitude of 7.2 and the second with a magnitude of 7.5 on the Richter scale.

On June 26, the United Nations Development Programme announced that the cost of direct material damage from the earthquake is estimated at about 6.7 billion dollars.