50 tons of South Florida aid headed to Venezuela following earthquakes

Fifty tons of humanitarian aid donated by South Floridians are on their way to Venezuela following the earthquakes that rocked the country last week.

The aid shipment departed from Miami International Airport around 9 p.m. Monday aboard a LATAM Cargo plane.

According to the Global Empowerment Mission, or GEM, the 50 tons of supplies are equivalent to the weight of about 10 adult elephants and include food, medicine and other critical items.

Rows of strategically packed pallets lined the tarmac Monday night before being loaded onto the aircraft.

GEM partnered with LATAM Cargo for the rapid deployment effort after the earthquakes devastated parts of Venezuela.

“So in this load right here, it’s a combination of our family kits,” Michael Kesti with GEM Government Affairs said. “The kit is enough food for a family of four for five days, so beans and rice and that. A small generator, we give them as well, and a case of water. And then in some cases, we have tents as well.”

GEM has already delivered supplies to earthquake victims in Venezuela, but officials said Monday’s flight carrying 50 tons of aid is the organization’s largest shipment so far.

“This is an extraordinary gesture because everybody is waiting on pins and needles to see how we can help,” Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said.

At Global Empowerment Mission’s (GEM) headquarters in Doral, volunteers are working around the clock as donations continue to pour in following Venezuela’s devastating earthquakes.

GEM is not the only organization working to provide relief.

Our Lady of Guadalupe Church has also been collecting and organizing donations since the disaster struck.

Officials with the church said they have collected about 150 pallets of goods and have already sent both a plane and a ship carrying aid to Venezuela.

Fernando Bolanos, with the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, said the community has been deeply affected by the tragedy.

“The main thing is that we are deeply, deeply touched with what happened there. We are suffering a lot, and this is a way to carry on,” Bolanos said. “We were so happy with the World Cup and everything, and now everything changed.”

GEM said there is now a critical need for additional medical supplies as relief efforts continue.