The world watched in horror as two earthquakes struck Venezuela in quick succession on June 24.
Entire towns in areas north of the capital Caracas were flattened by the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes, which occurred within less than a minute of each other.
The death toll is in the thousands and rising daily.
Bledys Tunon's family lives in Venezuela. She did, too, until she moved to Australia nine years ago.
Newcastle has been her home for the past two years.
"Unfortunately, my family was heavily affected," she told the Newcastle Herald.
"I lost my aunt, uncle and young cousin who used to live in La Guaira, the most affected area.
"The only survivor was my cousin Williams who fortunately wasn't at home.
"I found out about the earthquake through Instagram and I immediately tried to get in touch with my aunt and uncle but they wouldn't get back to me.
"My cousin Williams was the only one that received my message and he told me his parents weren't picking up and that he was really worried. He also mentioned he saw his apartment building down to the ground on a video on social media."
Devastated, and desperate to help, Bledys has raised close to $1000 for Williams through GoFundMe
"He lost both of his parents, his only brother, as well as his house and all his belongings," she said.
"It's a really difficult situation and Venezuelan people need a lot of support right now."
Bledys will be at Arepazo for Venezuela on Sunday, a community fundraiser in Lambton organised by her friend, chef Jose Sanchez.
It's a day of solidarity, culture and community, and an opportunity to enjoy Venezuelan food and music while raising money for people affected by the earthquakes.
Jose was born in Venezuela and has lived in Australia for 10 years. His family still live in Caracas.
"My family luckily only had material losses, but I have close friends who lost all their family, others who have found their parents alive after days searching under the rubble, and many others who have not been that lucky," he said.
"The death toll released by the authorities so far is over 1500, but it is expected to be way more than that, with over 50,000 people missing.
"The rescue operations are at full throttle, with many countries aiding, as Venezuela's government has been incapable of supporting its people due to lack of funds, corruption and incompetence.
"It's basically a government that does not care for its people, so it is the civilians who are rescuing people with the help of other countries' rescue teams."
At Sunday's fundraiser Jose will be serving papelon (Venezuelan lemonade), traditional Venezuelan desserts, and arepas (a round flatbread made from corn that is stuffed with cheese, pulled beef, black beans or chicken).
There will be raffles and fun activities for the kids.
"There are plenty of ways to help," he said.
"Every arepa, every raffle ticket, and every donation makes a difference."
