Maria Fernanda Freites, known as \u201cBeba\u201d to her friends, didn\u2019t waste time in organizing efforts to send help home.<\/p>\n
She and a group of women got together to cook food such as\u00a0sopa de pollo\u00a0and\u00a0chuletas de puerco, which they\u2019re giving out in exchange for donations \u2014 like non-perishable foods, medical supplies, clothes and shoes, and personal hygiene products.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll the people that have helped us have shared what they have in their heart,\u201d Freites said, as she chopped vegetables in her kitchen. \u201cWe\u2019ve sent the donations to Venezuela and we have people in there helping us distribute food, and get water and medical supplies into peoples\u2019 hands and hospitals.\u201d<\/p>\n
Freites told KERA in Spanish that she has paused her work as the owner of a nail salon to focus on these efforts. She and her friends have been working almost nonstop since news of the earthquakes.<\/p>\n
She said she will send anything she\u2019s able to and is planning to continue to help as much as she can for as long as she can. Local delivery businesses are collaborating to help get the supplies there faster via plane, she said.<\/p>\n
Freites, who came to the U.S. three years ago, is from Caracas, near where the earthquakes struck. She said while her family is accounted for, some family members of her friends and clients remain missing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of people that are lost. We are working to help save everyone that we can,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been in agony for the last 72 hours.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1782764019_129_.jpeg\")
Milagros Coromoto Martinez Oropeza, who has been in the U.S. since 2018, told KERA her uncle was killed in last week’s earthquakes, and her cousins were still missing. She stopped by Freites’ home to help with relief efforts and to find comfort. (Priscilla Rice | KERA)<\/p>\n
Milagros Coromoto Martinez Oropeza is from the state of Apure, near the northern part of Venezuela. She stopped at Freites\u2019 home to find comfort around friends.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m devastated. My heart and soul are in pieces,\u201d she told KERA in Spanish. \u201cI have my family on my mother\u2019s side who were affected. My uncle died and his sons are missing. They still haven’t given us any news. This is devastating.\u201d<\/p>\n
Oropeza, who has been in the U.S. since 2018, said it\u2019s Venezuelan people throughout the world who are making efforts to help people affected by the earthquakes \u2014 not the government, which was under the rule of Nicolas Maduro until the U.S. topped him earlier this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes I cry and it gives me agony that we Venezuelans don\u2019t deserve this,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re coming out of a dictatorship, and just when we think we are getting on our feet, something devastating happens.\u201d<\/p>\n
Freites said their efforts were the least they could do in this time of uncertainty and despair.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are all doing this to help our country, our people,\u201d she said. \u201cBecause Venezuela is not millions of people. We are one person, and we will always be there for one another.\u201d<\/p>\n
This <a target=”_blank” href=”https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/2026\/06\/29\/venezuelans-in-north-texas-send-relief-home-and-wait-for-news-of-loved-ones-following-earthquakes\/”>article<\/a> first appeared on <a target=”_blank” href=”https:\/\/fortworthreport.org”>Fort Worth Report<\/a> and is republished here under a <a target=”_blank” href=”https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nd\/4.0\/”>Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License<\/a>.<img src=”https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fortworthreport.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/cropped-favicon.png?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1″ style=”width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;”><\/p>\n
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