A Venezuelan woman residing in Timaru is doing her part to support her home country after it was left devastated by two large strike-slip earthquakes last month.
On June 24, Venezuela was hit by a magnitude 7.2 quake about 160km west of Caracas, followed seconds later by another of magnitude 7.5.
Kath Halkett, a GP from Barquisimeto (a city located 40km from the epicentre), is raising funds to support Misenplas, a restaurant in Chacao that has been preparing fresh meals and distributing them free in the wake of the earthquakes.
Mrs Halkett, who made the move to New Zealand in 2014 and has lived in Timaru since 2019, said she was at South Canterbury Plunket when the news about the earthquakes broke.
“I left my house to go to the Plunket rooms and as soon as I got there my phone connected to the Wi-Fi and I started getting messages like crazy.
“I have an app where I talk to my cousin and he was like ‘how are you? Did you see what happened with the earthquakes’ and I was just like ‘what earthquakes?’
“I go into WhatsApp and see all these messages and I try to call my mum and my dad, who are still in Venezuela and, of course, communications were down.”
It was impossible to describe how she was feeling in that moment.
“I was crying, it was horrible and when I finally got a message through from my mum, she said it was one of the scariest things she had ever lived through.
“She thought she was going to die and that it was about two minutes of violent shaking that felt like an eternity.
“I was able to call [my parents] later in the day.
“They were scared, but they were safe.”
Mrs Halkett said she came across the work Misenplas was doing after receiving a message from one of her friends who had been caring for those affected by the earthquakes.
“We have a WhatsApp group of all the medical graduates from my year.
“A message came through from one of my friends asking for food because she had been working for 24 hours, barely eating and only getting sips of water from random people.”
She began reaching out to family and friends.
“Through social media I came in contact with a local restaurant [Misenplas] and they had approximately 2000 meals to give away to anybody who needed them.
“I told them the situation . . . and they were just like ‘yes, how many? When and where?’
“I messaged my friend and she said her team was about 100 people.
“I messaged the restaurant and they said said they had it covered and next thing I know my friend is sending me text messages saying they’ve got the food.”
The restaurant asked for nothing in return and after seeing that she wanted to find a way to pay that kindness forwards, she said.
“I was with my sister Ari and she said sending food or clothes logistically was very hard since we are so far away but with sending money you just need an internet connection.
“We decided we could try to raise money to support this incredible restaurant so they could continue cooking and providing meals to anyone who needed them during this difficult time.
“I contacted them and told them what we were planning and they were so grateful.”
Mrs Halkett said she had so far received $800 to send to the restaurant.
“As of July 2 they have given out 4655 meals.
“I haven’t sent the money yet because [Misenplas] said it’s better to wait so I don’t have to be paying fees every time I have to send money but they know it’s here waiting to be sent.
“We’re very appreciative for everyone that has donated so far. I have received at least three or four donations from people that I have no idea who they are.
“All the money goes to a separate account that is not linked to mine, as I know a lot of people don’t know me and might think ‘she’s just going to use the money to go on holiday’, and there are a lot of bad people out there.
All donations, no matter the amount, were welcome and much appreciated, she said.
“Every contribution will help provide another meal, another moment of hope and another reminder that kindness knows no borders.”
Anyone wishing to donate can do so making a bank transfer to: KATHERINE HALKETT, 06-0942-0699281-51 and using VENEZUELA as the code.
Mrs Halkett said she would also be happy to provide a receipt if people added an email address or phone number in the reference section.
