Woman still has family member missing in Venezuela earthquake rubble
By Natalia Gomez del Campo
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DES MOINES, Iowa (KCCI) — Yenny Soley grew up in Venezuela before coming to Iowa 11 years ago.
She’s watched as the Venezuelan community in Central Iowa has grown throughout the years and become tight-knit.
“It’s like we are like family after, you know, being in another country so far away from our country,” Soley said.
But that family has been in mourning from seeing the recent devastation through their screens.
“It’s exhausting,” Soley said. “It’s very hard to sleep, concentrate, to work or do anything else. But I’m sure we all are having that feeling right now.”
Soley’s cousin’s 18-year-old daughter, Chantal, had just moved to Caracas a week before tragedy struck. Her building collapsed, and she’s still missing.
Soley still holds onto hope.
“They are still finding people alive. So we still have to hope with her.”
The past few days have been a whirlwind of emotion — with most videos and stories bringing tears to her eyes.
“I see the videos of the tragedy. Then I see the videos of massive people there trying to help,” Soley said. “They’re here in different countries and, you know, give me hope because we are losing so much. But at the same time, we see the humanity of many, not just Venezuelans, but Mexicans, other Americans, everybody.”
Soley asks for a helping hand, no matter how small, through donation or prayer, in helping her community.
“For many people, even though they are alive, they lost everything,” Soley said. “They don’t have even clothes or food or anything.”
For those wanting to help, the Venezuelan community in Central Iowa points to the WeLove Foundation GoFundMe.
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