In Venezuela, the monthly average food consumption for a family is around 300 dollars. Meanwhile a worker's salary, in many cases, does not exceed five dollars.
JAVIER MENÉNDEZ ROS
Director, Aid to Church in Need Spain
“It is one of the countries suffering a major humanitarian crisis: refugee crisis, crisis of values, political crisis and a crisis affecting every part of society. Aid to the Church in Need could do nothing but help this country and the Church there. It's being a truly Samaritan Church with the most disadvantaged and the most needy.”
An example of the work Aid to the Church in Need supports are these soup kitchens, present in nearly all Venezuelan parishes. It is the priests who are an always-outstretched hand that never falters. One of them is Fr. Ángel Colmenares, a priest in Catia la Mar, very close to Caracas.
“The Church suffers with its people. Despite the bad situation in Venezuela, I have decided to be a priest to serve my country.”
Another example of the Church's never-tiring work is this parish soup kitchen in San Sebastián de Maiquetía. Here 150 elderly, children, parents and people with disabilities are able to eat. In August 2016, they only had to serve food on Mondays, but now it's grown to five days a week.
Aid to the Church in Need supports more than 1,200 priests from all over the country. Helping them means helping hundreds of families eat properly at least once a day.
JAVIER MENÉNDEZ ROS
Director, Aid to the Church in Need Spain
“The priests, especially, are behind many acts of social aid. It could be 'solidarity pots,' soup kitchens, serving the needy, turning to the people when they need it most, listening to people and, of course, their fundamental work of providing the sacraments. Thus, supporting the priests is to sustain the charitable work of the Church in Venezuela. We do that through donations.”
The nuns contribution is also huge. These Eucharistic Missionaries of Nazareth run a soup kitchen and a training center for women, so that through a trade the women can make a living. They provide unconditional material and spiritual help.
Aid the Church in Need supports them, the priests and also the youth through the parishes. Of the four million people who have left Venezuela because of the crisis, most of them are young. That is why the Venezuelan Church takes special care of them, so that they do not lose hope and can be the architects of a better tomorrow for Venezuela.
Ángeles Conde.
Translation: Melissa Butz
