Samaritan's Purse aids thousands after Venezuela earthquakes uproot communities
Evangelist Franklin Graham visited Venezuela this week to meet with earthquake survivors being aided by Samaritan's Purse, including a stop at a church that has mostly collapsed after June 24 back-to-back magnitude 7.5 and 7.2 earthquakes killed thousands of people and injured even more.
Graham, the son of the late evangelist Billy Graham, who heads the North Carolina-based Evangelical humanitarian organization Samaritan's Purse, joined daughter Cissie Graham Lynch in visiting 170 members of the organization's disaster response teams serving in La Guaira, Playa Grande and Caraballeda, as well the Samaritan's Purse Emergency Field Hospital in La Guaira.
The hospital has 60 beds and two operating rooms and has helped more than 2,500 people since it opened on June 30.
The Evangelical leader also visited an area where Samaritan's Purse is housing people in shelter tents, and a church building largely destroyed by the earthquakes, whose pastor is still finding ways to serve his community despite tragedies in his own life.
"These people are surrounded by so much death and destruction. We want to bring the light of Jesus Christ into these places of pain," Graham said in a statement to The Christian Post.
"I'm thankful for our incredible teams who are doing just that. They are providing medical care, clean water, tents for shelter, and many other emergency supplies. As they do this in Jesus' Name, they are comforting these families and praying with them during this time of intense grief and loss."
Graham Lynch, who is a senior adviser for Samaritan's Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, said that though she witnessed "immense suffering," she was encouraged by the "incredible strength of the Venezuelan people."
"I was deeply impacted by the story of a pastor who lost his home and his nephew, yet is still serving his community," she said. "He said it all when he told us, 'I am here to serve and win souls for Christ.' I thank God for that faithful pastor and for the opportunity that we have to encourage and support him as he shares the hope of Jesus Christ in Venezuela."
Samaritan's Purse has delivered aid to Venezuelans through a multi-faceted approach, having delivered more than 295 tons of supplies through more than 767 airlifts. More than 10,000 families have received emergency supplies from the organization, according to a spokesperson.
Those supplies include family tents, tarps, solar lights, blankets, jerry cans, hygiene kits, cooking sets and Spanish Bibles.
The organization also established two desalination units that have produced more than 154,000 liters of clean drinking water, as of Tuesday.
The field hospital opened in La Guaira to accommodate the medical needs of the devastated community. The hospital also has a pharmacy, lab and other amenities beyond beds and operating units. Its medical teams are performing many orthopedic surgeries to repair broken bones. Many patients have untreated infections.
Some of the patients have included a man who attempted suicide by hanging himself and a father who broke his leg trying to rescue someone else's child from a collapsed building. One man who was buried under rubble after he fell six floors in his apartment complex told Samaritan's Purse he stayed there for two days without lights, food or water.
"Painful, painful, painful. I lose everything, I don't have anything. A nurse here made me paper shoes; I feel so happy for that," the man was quoted as saying. "The doctors pray with me. That's beautiful when they get on their knees and pray with me. I love that. Nobody do that for me."
Chaplains serving with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association's Rapid Response Team are serving alongside Samaritan's Purse to minister to the emotional and spiritual needs.
Samaritan's Purse has also installed four clinic restart modules to provide more localized healthcare through generator-powered tents stocked with medical supplies and surgical equipment.
