A 5th of July in mourning: how to help Venezuela from London

This Sunday Venezuela marks 215 years since the 1811 signing that made it the first colony in South America to declare independence. But this year the date doesn't find the country celebrating: it finds it in mourning. On 25 June, two earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 — the second, the strongest in more than a century — struck the Caracas and La Guaira region (GOV.UK). As we publish, there are more than 2,600 dead, some 58,000 buildings damaged or destroyed according to NASA satellite observation, and thousands of families sleeping on sports courts and in camps (Expansión). Hospitals, already short of medicines, are overwhelmed; the WHO is coordinating international medical teams on the ground.

For the diaspora, these days have a concrete shape: the video call that won't connect, the family group chat holding vigil, the mental list of names until everyone answers. If you're Venezuelan in London, first things first: you are not alone in this.

And second, something you may not have said to yourself yet: this week asks for exactly what you already do better than almost anyone in this city — getting help across an ocean and into the right hands. You've done it for years, in good months and in lean ones, asking "did it arrive?" until it does. Nearly one in three households in Venezuela receives remittances from someone like you. Nobody ever applauded you for it, because to you it isn't charity: it's family. Well, today that quiet craft is what the country needs — and for the first time, someone is offering to put up the other half.

The biggest remittance you'll send this year

On 1 July, the Disasters Emergency Committee — the coalition of 15 registered UK charities (British Red Cross, Oxfam, Save the Children and more) that only mobilises for major emergencies — launched the **DEC Venezuela Earthquake Appeal**. And it comes with something no remittance of yours ever had:

The British government matches every pound you donate, up to £2 million (UK Aid Match — GOV.UK). Your £20 becomes £40. Your £50, £100. You put up half; the country you live in puts up the other half. The money goes to medical supplies, food, water and shelter, and the appeal has already passed £7 million raised.

One detail that matters: the matching has a cap — that £2 million — and it waits for no one. This isn't salesman's urgency; it's arithmetic. The sooner your pound goes in, the surer it lands in the round that gets doubled.

"But does it actually arrive?" — the eternal question, with the best answer it's ever had

You know that stress from every transfer. Here the answer is unusually solid: the DEC exists solely for this, its 15 members are registered charities, audited and legally accountable, and the British government's official advice is exactly that — donate money (not goods) through registered charities, because it arrives faster and it's regulated (GOV.UK). This is not a friend of a friend with an account somewhere-or-other. It's the most closely watched channel in this country.

The other side of your craft: smelling a scam

Because you know this too: after every tragedy the fake fundraisers bloom, and British regulators have already urged people to check before donating (UK Fundraising) — including inside our own group chats. Apply the eye you already have: if a Facebook or WhatsApp collection doesn't say who's behind it or where it renders accounts, don't put your money in, however tricolour the poster. When in doubt, the DEC link. Always.

If your organisation or your local is putting together a serious collection in London, write to us and we'll verify it — this page will keep being updated for as long as the emergency lasts.

A practical note: the consulate on Grafton Way opens Monday to Friday, 10:00 to 14:00, by appointment only (consuladovenuk.com) — it does not open on Sundays. For paperwork concerning affected relatives, check their official notices before going.

This year, the date means something else

There's no confirmed festive programme in London for this 5th of July — we looked, found no public event announced, and this year that may be only natural. But if this week taught anything, it's what the diaspora already knew: a country isn't a territory, it's its people. London's Venezuelan places remain what they've always been — the place to find each other, now also to embrace and organise help:

• Liqui Liqui — 4 Merton High Street, Colliers Wood (SW19). Venezuelan restaurant and deli since 2016, THE community meeting point (liqui-liqui.com).
• Arepa & Co — Elephant Park (8 Ash Avenue, SE17) and three other sites (arepaandco.com).
• La Pepiá — Borough Market, the market's first Venezuelan stall (lapepialdn.com).
• Peter's Panas — arepas and criollo treats (peterspanas.com).
• La Casa de Jack (Leyton) — official importer of Harina PAN in the UK (lacasadejack.com).

This year the gathering isn't a party; it's company.

Your second send of the day costs nothing

The WhatsApp group is our true national territory: family scattered across three time zones, workmates, the football chat. The same finger that forwards a dubious chain message can forward this. Send this page — or the DEC link directly — to your groups. Every person who donates through the verified channel is two more pounds over there, and one less in a scammer's pocket.

The 2021 census counted 21,826 Venezuelans in the UK and today there are clearly more. There's no Venezuelan family without someone abroad — and this week, no Venezuelan abroad without someone back home.

215 years on, independence also looks like this: a country held up by its people, wherever they are. This Sunday is commemorated by helping — and your help is worth double: **donate to the DEC Venezuela Earthquake Appeal — your £20 becomes £40**. An arepa, the video call with your people, the customary "¡bendición!". Fuerza, panas.