The following story was originally published by Times Higher Education on August 18, 2026.
Venezuela’s deadly earthquakes have derailed students’ study plans, with international funders stepping up efforts to support people to continue their courses.
The Institute of International Education (IIE) – known for administering the Fulbright Program – says it has supported 31 Venezuelan students in the US through its emergency fund since 6,300 people were killed during huge earthquakes in June.
Each has received a sum of between $2,000 and $3,000 (£1,481 to £2,222) to cover expenses they might now be facing on top of their educational costs.
One student, Paola Valentina Crespo Moreno, who is beginning her last semester studying computer science at Troy University in Alabama, told Times Higher Education (THE) that her parents had been preparing to sell their family home in Caracas to pay for her to finish the course.
But the property was “extremely damaged” by the disaster, suddenly leaving them without this option – making the grant a lifeline mere months before her graduation in December.
The IIE has run its Emergency Student Fund (ESF) for 16 years, also recently supporting students in Turkey after devastating earthquakes there in 2023. It has provided more than $9 million in support in total.