Venezuela is facing one of its biggest humanitarian crises, after 7.4 and 7.2 magnitude earthquakes hit the country last month.
Paul Montiel grew up in Venezuela but now lives in Basalt.
He organized a fundraising event in Aspen last week to raise money for one nonprofit in Venezuela.
Right now, the money will go toward rebuilding homes, assisting in search efforts and securing clean drinking water, but Montiel is working toward establishing an official nonprofit in the Roaring Fork Valley by the end of the year.
He spoke with Aspen Public Radio’s Regan Mertz about his plans to continue fundraising efforts for earthquake recovery — as well as other issues plaguing the country.
The conversation below has been edited for clarity and length.
Regan Mertz: [You're working toward establishing a nonprofit.]
What was that like getting it up and off the ground in time for this event?
Paul Montiel: So, being completely honest, we hadn't time to register a nonprofit. We didn't want to make anything beyond the law, and we wanted to do it as transparently as possible.
I reached out to the main organization that was focused on the kids in Venezuela, which is called Hogar Bambi. I mentioned the event, and I told them, "Hey, we would like to have a QR code or some way where people can donate directly to your foundation.”
Either way, it went great. It gave me a sense of purpose. You always see an earthquake or a natural disaster. At first, you see it, and it's like, “Oh wow, this is so sad.” But you just move on, and you always think that it won't happen to your country, until it happens, and you see it's bad.
Mertz: Did it affect any places that you went to growing up?
Montiel: Yeah, it affected the capital where I used to go a lot, but the most devastated or affected area is La Guaira, but La Guaira right now it's just uninhabitable. I was listening to some American journalists that went there, and they said that it's a combination of 9/11 and Gaza because of the scale. It's not just how strong the earthquake was, but also the reach that it had. It wasn't just a city; it was an entire area.
Mertz: Could you tell me about a moment from the event last week where you felt like the work that you were doing, the work that you'll continue to do, is affecting people's lives positively?
Montiel: There is such a small Venezuelan community here where we hadn't had the opportunity to be all together in the same place. We are just like five or six here. [It] felt like we're contributing here, not only financially but also spreading the word in Aspen, which was needed. We really understand the power that we all have if we really got together.
Mertz: Do you see the organization helping outside of the earthquakes?
Montiel: That will be ideal, and it's needed. There is $19.6 billion in direct physical damage, where the cost of the rebuilding could reach $50 billion. This is according to the World Bank. Then you see that [it] doesn't matter how much I can contribute or how much somebody else has contributed, it's a large number. Where if everybody did it, it could be beautiful.
This happened on top of an already humanitarian crisis, right? The majority of the country was already living in poverty. Venezuela wasn't doing well, and that's why so many Venezuelans have left. I feel like what helped me a lot to have empathy was imagining that it was in my city. Every time that I thought it was in my city, it's like no. We need to do something because I will be really yelling for help.
Mertz: What would you say to people here in Aspen or in America — that they're like, that's not my country and lack empathy?
Montiel: I would suggest watching some of the footage that is coming out of Venezuela, because just by watching it, you understand or have an idea of the magnitude.
There are over 58,000 buildings damaged. There are 680,000 children needing humanitarian help, [according to] UNICEF. Over 5,000 have died. But that's just the official data because there are still tens of thousands missing after one month. There are a lot of homeless people.
We are actually neighbors, it's not something that is that far. I love Aspen, I love the valley, and hope that we can continue contributing to Venezuela.
Support for this Nonprofit Spotlight series comes from the Aspen Community Foundation.
