As Paul has mentioned at recent meetings, Venezuela was struck by devastating earthquakes on June 24. Government reports indicate that the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude quakes claimed more than 5,000 lives, injured nearly 17,000 people, and left approximately 18,000 homeless.

The disaster has had an especially severe impact on a country that was already facing significant humanitarian challenges, with nearly one quarter of the population requiring assistance even before the earthquakes occurred. Aid organizations are warning of a growing health crisis as many families are living in overcrowded temporary shelters or sleeping outdoors without reliable access to clean water and basic necessities.

Our speaker On July 28th was Ella Mironescu, 19, a recent graduate of Waterloo Collegiate Institute who spent just over 10 months on a Rotary Youth Exchange in Hakusan, Ishikawa Prefecture — a small city in rural Japan, roughly in the middle of the country, surrounded by rice fields and known as the rainiest prefecture in Japan. She has been back for about a year and is heading to the University of Guelph this fall to study biomedical sciences, with her sights set on becoming a veterinarian.

Ella was quick to point out that Japan was not her first choice destination. In fact, she didn’t particularly want to go. She is now one of the program’s most enthusiastic advocates and recommends it to everyone she meets.