In Time of Crisis, Venezuelans Help the Hungry

Their clothes torn and dirty, nine barefoot children yell and applaud as a convoy of cars approaches on a busy street in Venezuela's capital. Volunteers emerge handing out soup and clothes to the delight and excitement of the children who have come from a town a couple of hours outside Caracas. "We started this because we see people every day hunting for food in the trash, not only the homeless but people on their way to work," said Diego Prada, a 28-year-old entrepreneur who began a charity in December in response to Venezuela's dire economic crisis. His 'Make The Difference' initiative is one of a plethora of solidarity projects springing up around Venezuela, in the fourth year of a crushing recession that has forced many to skip meals and jostle for scarce subsidized food. More…