Beyond sport: Venezuelan Association of Aeronautical Sports' donation to new Rescue Group
FAI Member organisation, the Venezuelan Association of Aeronautical Sports (AVDA), has donated emergency medical equipment to a newly-established rescue group operating in Canaima National Park, a remote area of Venezuela only accessible by water or air.
The initiative was instigated by air sports pilots and athletes whose work and sporting adventures in this vast and isolated rainforest region between Guyana and Brazil have given them a unique insight into the importance of emergency medical assistance in this isolated region.
a remote location
From helicopter flights for filming, tourist and scientific expeditions, parachute jumps and other sporting adventures, the aviation community in Venezuela has long appreciated this isolated UNESCO World Heritage Site's outstanding natural beauty.
Covering an area of over 30,000 km², it is the fifteenth largest national park in the world, and the ancestral land of the Pemón indigenous people, whose community is estimated to number 30,000 inhabitants.
With its steep cliffs and waterfalls - including Angel Falls, the highest waterfall in the world at 1,283 m - approximately 65% of the park is occupied by rocky plateaus, or "tepuis". Its unique biological and geological environment means that visitors, mostly from scientific expeditions and tourism, are numerous. Yet with no road access, the small and isolated town of Canaima has had limited resources for emergency medical and rescue response.
A new rapid response team
In order to serve this need, the Kanaimo Rescue Group has recently been established, founded by the chief of the Pemón Indigenous Community. Young people from the community were trained by the Humboldt Rescue Organisation, in collaboration with other institutions and tourist camps within the Park.
Medical equipment donated to the Kanaimo Rescue Group by AVDA includes a heli-transportable sling stretcher and fracture and spine immobilisers, which will serve during rescue operations.
AVDA’s commitment to safety and humanitarian support is a powerful example of how aviation and air sports can play a meaningful role in supporting communities, particularly in remote and underserved regions, and reflects the most positive values of the international aeronautical community.
Against the backdrop of a challenging political and economic situation in Venezuela, the donation to the rescue group by the aeronautical organisation represents a positive act of solidarity to support social welfare and humanitarian safety in the country.
About AVDA
Venezuela's relationship with FAI began in the late 1960s, when a dynamic group of Venezuelan skydivers required their sporting licences to compete in the World Parachuting Championship in Oklahoma, USA. They formed an organisation called Paraclub Caracas which became an FAI National Airsport Control (NAC). About 20 years ago, this membership was formally transferred to the Asociación Venezolana de los Deportes Aeronáuticos (AVDA).
Over nearly six decades, Venezuelan athletes have participated in multiple world championships in skydiving, hang gliding, paragliding, hot air ballooning, aeromodelling, aerobatics, gliding, and other air sports disciplines governed by the FAI. Venezuela has also participated in world record attempts and achievements in these sports.
Since the beginning of its relationship with FAI, the air sports organisation which developed into AVDA has actively encouraged athletes and teams to compete internationally. Its ongoing commitment to its mission will ensure that new generations of athletes will continue this legacy long in the future.
Acknowledging FAI’s support of the initiative to support the Kanaimo Rescue Group, Enrique Vélez & Aníbal Dao, directors of AVDA state that:
“FAI's collaboration with our mission is a valuable endorsement for us, and it encourages us to continue promoting the role of aviation beyond sport as a tool for solidarity and humanitarian support. With FAI support, we are convinced that we can continue moving forward on this path.”
