Sawt Falasteen - Football brings joy to Venezuelan kids displaced by quakes

"Football!" the children respond in unison as they dart between tents and ambulances in a pharmacy parking lot.

"No pushing! We mark one on one," the 45-year-old father of three instructs the youngsters as they run in circles in a makeshift camp for survivors in Catia la Mar, one of the worst-affected areas in La Guaira state.

A bricklayer who coaches eight-to-12-year-olds, Cordero is using the football fever whipped up by the World Cup to try bring a little joy to children whose lives were turned upside down by the disaster.

The 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes of June 24 killed over 1,900 people, injured over 10,000 more and left tens of thousands unaccounted for.

Thousands more like Cordero, who lost his sister and several neighbors in the tragedy, are homeless.

Like many of the survivors he is committed to helping others, in this instance by entertaining the camp's children.

"We're doing this for them, so they can clear their minds," he said.

The UN refugee agency on Tuesday appealed for millions of dollars in aid to feed and shelter an estimated 30,000 survivors.

Cordero issued his own personal appeal for football gear.

"There are many things one would like to say or ask for, like life itself. But well, I'd appreciate help with sports equipment," he said, citing a need for balls, vests, cones and football boots.

More than 58,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed by the earthquakes, according to a preliminary assessment of satellite data conducted by US researchers.

In La Guaira, the situation is catastrophic, with hundreds sleeping in the streets and others sifting through mountains of rubble day and night, searching for their dead.

Cordero's wife, who was injured, rests in a makeshift tent while he puts the children, including his own three sons, through their paces.

"Turn around, turn around, turn around!" he shouts at the top of his lungs to encourage them to run in circles.

Reflecting on the massive challenge that awaits him and all Venezuelans to rebuild their lives, he said: "Let's take it one step at a time; we have to live one day at a time."

H.Darwish--SF-PST