Dear Supporters,
As 2024 comes to a close, we at Healing Venezuela reflect on a year of significant progress and transformation. While we acknowledge the grief and suffering of many in Venezuela and elsewhere, we also want to celebrate the compassionate and courageous people who made of this world a better
place.
This year, despite the political and social turmoil in the country, we continued serving the most vulnerable. This summary of our impact speaks for itself. We are incredibly grateful to each and every one who contributed to our success.
It might seem surprising that a small, volunteer-run charity like Healing Venezuela, with no payroll, no offices, and no support from governments or international humanitarian agencies, could have such a profound impact.
Three factors explain this success. First, the severe crisis in Venezuela amplifies the effectiveness of even modest interventions. Second, over the past eight years, we’ve focused our programmes prioritising those that benefit the largest number of people. Most importantly, as a Venezuelan diaspora organisation, we deeply and truly care for our country, and go the extra mile to help our fellow citizens. Undoubtedly, passion and commitment make a difference.
Our junior doctor scholarship programme, now in its 7th year, is a good example of an intervention with a wide reach. Junior doctors undergo rigorous training in a specific area of medicine, quickly assuming patient responsibilities in state hospitals. Notably, in Venezuela, these doctors earn an average of only
$70 per month.
Our monthly allowance gives them some financial security to provide vital care to thousands of Venezuelans who rely on the public health system.
The impact of this programme is evident: the 60 junior doctors who receive our scholarship serve an average of 100 patients each per month, reaching over 72,000 patients annually.
If you want to know more, you can watch this video recorded by Dr Jueida Azkoul, coordinator of the scholarship programme in the Los Andes University Medical School: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fa3j1x8y9Oc&t=23s
Similarly, our potable water systems programme in hospitals have significantly benefited a large number of people. In 2024, these systems provided clean water to an estimated 17,000 people across three hospitals, based on an average daily water consumption of 5 litres per person.
Our routine maintenance and lab analysis ensure us the quality of the water is suitable for human consumption. With a reliable supply of clean water, we expanded its use in 2024 to other areas of the hospitals, including intensive care units, surgery rooms, and hospital wards.
In 2025, we plan to expand the supply of potable water to a nursery school adjacent to the Maternal and Infant Hospital in Caricuao. In this short video, Dr Ana Rosa Colmenares explains the positive impact the plant we installed already had in this hospital: https://youtube.com/shorts/f2mv65gKwJ0
In Venezuela, public medical infrastructure and equipment have significantly deteriorated in recent years, making even basic services unreliable. Maintaining hospitals’ viability is therefore crucial. This is why our infrastructure improvement programme has been underway since 2017. To date, we have refurbished several rooms such as the blood bank in a cancer hospital and donated/repaired 30 critical pieces of medical equipment.
In 2024, we refurbished the microbiology laboratory at the Materno Infantil de Caricuao Hospital and the dental room at Vargas Hospital, the only free dental service in Caracas and which had been non operational for 13 years, now attending an average of 10 patients per day. Other projects included replacing electrical cables and repairing several pieces of equipment.
Access to public reproductive health programmes is very limited in Venezuela. As a consequence, teenage pregnancy has skyrocketed and women from poorer backgrounds find themselves in a vicious cycle of lack of education, low or no income, having too many mouths to feed. Because of that, since 2018 we have been running a reproductive health programme benefiting more than 2,500 women, including teenagers.
Another tragic aspect of the crisis is that in 90% of the cases, patients are required to bring their own supplies if they want to be hospitalised. So, in 2024, we provided 240 pregnant women with a safe delivery kit for them to have babies in hospitals. We are delighted to report that all the beneficiaries, along with their babies, are in excellent health.
We have identified 100 women and teenagers to participate in our comprehensive reproductive health initiative in 2025.
If you want to know more about our work, you can watch this heart-warming
short video: https://youtu.be/rL_erVxzoxQ
Another successful programme was the introduction of Portable Ultrasound Devices (POCUS) in Venezuela. We donated three devices to the Razetti Medical School in Caracas as a pilot, and that has demonstrated the profound impact they can have.
To date, more than 1,200 patients have benefited from accurate and quick diagnoses performed by the 30 doctors trained to use this technology. Recognising its critical role, the internal medicine curriculum of the Razetti Medical School has been revised to include POCUS training.
In 2025, we plan to provide nine POCUS to other hospitals and they will be used as part of an effort to reach remote areas of the country.
This short video captures the feedback from doctors who have been trained in the use of these devices: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7J9Lp3Re3g
Since 2019 we have been running a programme to combat malnutrition for the most vulnerable children in Guaraunos, a small village in rural Venezuela. The results have been excellent, improving school attendance and overall boosting the morale of the village. In 2024, we delivered 57,000 meals to 100 children, Monday to Friday during the school period.
This programme has been so successful that we will bring it to an end in July 2025. But we weren’t satisfied with just leaving, we wanted to ensure a lasting impact beyond the food programme. In 2024, we launched a micro-farms pilot to empower women in the community. This initiative has exceeded our expectations and now has been handed over to a local charity that is already receiving support from the F.A.O.
Although saying goodbye to Guaraunos will be difficult, we are confident that we are leaving a legacy of values, hard work, and commitment that will benefit the community for years to come.
In this short video, some of the children thank our donors and volunteers. Their parents have authorised the use of their pictures: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/VYf9kPpLUm0
We don’t want to blow our own trumpets, but…in 2024 we received the Bronze Award in the Humanitarian Response Category at the Global Good Awards (tying with UNICEF!).
Furthermore, we were awarded the Silver Seal of Transparency by Candid, a leading non-profit evaluator in the United States. These awards help to provide our donors with the confidence that their contributions are being used effectively and ethically.
Our final words are for our volunteers, friends, and ambassadors worldwide. Without your support, we wouldn’t have achieved this much.
We wish you a healthy, happy, and adventurous New Year.
The Healing Venezuela Team
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Donations are welcome any time of the year, and if you liked what you read, why not leaving us a Happy New Year gift? As we are a registered charity in the England & Wales (as well as the US and France) your donations
Small or large, every donation makes a difference
CORPORATE GIVING
Get your company involved by participating in a Matching Programme or Corporate Grants.
VOLUNTEER
Help out in person at any of our events, or donate your time and skills to assist our operations.
