Structurally unsafe buildings are forcing a new round of families from their homes in Colombia, even as the immediate rescue phase winds down. In response, our teams on the ground are distributing tents, tarps, mattresses, and sheets alongside hygiene kits stocked with wipes and diapers for children and adults. Protective PPE masks are also being handed out to guard against dust and toxins still hanging in the air around the city.
The rain hasn’t made it easier. After more than 24 hours of steady downpour, families living in tents started digging trenches around their shelters and taking refuge near the food tents at the center of the park. We returned with large rolls of plastic sheeting so people could cover their tents against the water.
Equipping the First Responders
For Luis Miguel, a search-and-rescue worker from Pereira, the work starts with having the right tools such as helmets, shears, sledgehammers, and the rest of the equipment his team relies on to carry out rescues safely. But he’s quick to point out that the response reaches far beyond the front lines. His brigade has been training volunteers because after a disaster, everyone has something to contribute: preparing meals, carrying supplies, clearing rubble, or supporting rescue efforts however they can.
In Cali, that same spirit showed up through community mobilization. Local residents came together to help procure and distribute 100 helmets, pairs of gloves, N95 masks, tools, and medical supplies to search-and-rescue teams working tirelessly in the earthquake’s aftermath, getting critical equipment into the hands of first responders by leaning on local networks.
More than a week in, the work of equipping those teams hasn’t slowed. Safety equipment for clearing rubble and protective tarps for families sheltering through the heavy rains continue to go out.
One Shower at a Time
At the Maria Robledo Shelter in Pereira, home to 120 displaced people, including children, elderly residents, and pregnant women, tents, bedding, and basic supplies were already in place. What was missing was somewhere to shower. Building on recent work in Venezuela, we built a shower station so families could bathe for the first time in days.
Ten-year-old Jose was counting down the minutes, checking in every ten minutes to ask if the showers were ready yet, thrilled for his first bath in days. Access to clean water for something as simple as a shower means more than hygiene. It means dignity and comfort for a community that has lost so much.
Reaching Rural Communities
AH&H’s response has extended beyond Pereira’s city limits.
In the Emberá community, an ancestral indigenous community in Colombia known for hand-crafted okama jewelry that represents their territory and connection to the land, we delivered fresh food sacks of potatoes, carrots, and bananas alongside hygiene kits with toilet paper and diapers.
A truck loaded with hygiene kits, food, water, tents, and sleeping mats set out early one morning for rural communities across Valle del Cauca. Working alongside Red Latiendo, Colectivo MQ, and the Urban Intervention Lab at Universidad del Valle, supplies are reaching families in Dagua, La Cumbre, Restrepo, La Unión, Vijes, and surrounding rural areas still facing the aftermath of the earthquake.
In Nacederos, on the outskirts of Pereira, 60 hygiene kits and 50 sleeping mats reached families who have lost homes and livelihoods. From there, the response extended to Santa Rosa de Cabal, where despite heavy rain, 100 hygiene kits and 70 sleeping mats made it to rural communities surrounding Pereira.
In El Cairo, our team joined local partners to support reconstruction efforts and deliver essential supplies to families recovering from the earthquake. Recovery is being built through collaboration, one community at a time.
Feeding Pereira Together
We’re helping provide around 1,500 meals a day through five community kitchens across Pereira for families affected by the Colombia earthquake. Together with our local partners from Solar, Corporacion Abuara, Mensajero de Semillas, and Territorios de Paz, we’re supplying the ingredients, while each community prepares and distributes the meals themselves.
There’s still rubble to clear, tarps to hand out before the next rain, and families in villages we haven’t reached yet. That’s the work right now: the next delivery, the next kitchen, the next shower stall. We’ll keep you posted as it continues.
Make a Difference
The need is growing. Your support allows us to continue showing up by working alongside communities, supporting local efforts, and doing everything we can in the coming weeks to help families recover.
Thank you for your support.
