Is this a bad time to ask you to do this? We don´t allways know how we´ll feel later, but today I feel like there is something I notice every time a tragedy strikes. During the first few days, headlines dominate the news, donation drives fill up, and social media is flooded with messages of support Venezuela. The response is generous, heartfelt, and necessary.
But it is also temporary.
While the rest of us return to our normal routines, the families who lost everything are only beginning theirs. Rebuilding a home, a business, or a life doesn't happen in a week. It doesn't even happen in a month. Sometimes it takes years.
As I watched the aftermath of the recent earthquake in Venezuela, one thought stayed with me: perhaps the most meaningful help hasn't happened yet. The first wave of support is driven by emotion. The second depends on something much harder—our ability to remember.
So I'd like to make a simple suggestion. If you've already donated, thank you. But before you move on, open your calendar and set yourself a reminder for one month from today. When the headlines have disappeared. When social media has moved on. When almost no one is talking about these families anymore.
When that reminder appears, ask the same question again: How can I help today? Maybe it's another donation. Maybe it's sharing a trusted relief effort. Maybe it's simply reminding others that recovery is still happening. The second act of generosity may matter even more than the first, because it arrives when the world has stopped paying attention.
PS.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that this is also how we protect our roots. We don't lose our identity overnight. It fades quietly when we stop making small, intentional choices to keep it alive. Compassion works the same way. It's not measured by one emotional moment, but by our willingness to return, even after everyone else has moved on. I´ll remember you later, even if you delete it again and again!, but I know you won´t! Thanks A LOT!