In his Maracay, Venezuela studio, fashion designer Efrain Mogollon begins his days surrounded by sketches of elegant dresses, as is his custom. However, behind the sewing machines, his employees are no longer making colorful garments, but body bags for the victims of the violent earthquakes that struck the country on June 24th.
The magnitude 7,2 and 7,5 earthquakes killed more than 3,500 people and quickly overwhelmed the resources of the rescue teams. Faced with the scale of the disaster, the sewing workshop suspended its usual production to meet an urgent need. The workers are now assembling large black plastic envelopes, simply adorned with a raised image of Jesus Christ on their zippers.
“It’s a completely different feeling,” said Efrain Mogollon, as he loaded several body bags into the back of an ambulance in Catia la Mar, in the state of La Guaira, one of the areas hardest hit by the earthquake. He added, however, that he felt a deep sense of satisfaction at being able to contribute to the relief efforts using the resources available to his company.
The creator explained that his team had chosen to put its expertise at the service of the victims in a context where humanitarian needs remain immense. In Catia la Mar, collapsed buildings and piles of concrete still bear witness to the violence of the earthquakes that devastated part of the region.
As the rescue operations for victims continue, numerous businesses and volunteers are participating in the relief effort. For Efrain Mogollon and his employees, the sewing workshops have become an essential production site, illustrating the mobilization of civil society in the face of one of the deadliest disasters to hit Venezuela in recent years.
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