The Fundación Cisneros believes that the strength of a society is directly linked to the health and welfare of its citizens. By focusing on local initiatives in Venezuela, the Fundación works to strengthen democracy through community action and support. In 1999, for example, one of most serious natural disasters in the history of the Americas devastated Venezuela. Floods and landslides killed tens of thousands of people, and left hundreds of thousands of families without shelter. The Fundación Cisneros helped mobilize a massive international relief effort. Working together, the Fundación Cisneros, AmeriCares, the Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, and Doctors Without Borders brought emergency food, water, and medicine to the victims of the disaster.