In the nearby city of Buenaventura, homes collapsed, families were displaced, and health facilities that survivors depended on were themselves damaged or overwhelmed. ActionAid spoke with three local women who have described what the days since have been like, and what their communities still need most.
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“We have nothing left”: Claudia’s story
Claudia Ximena lived with her family in a five-storey building in the Rockefeller neighbourhood of Buenaventura. She and her husband were not at home when the earthquake hit. They returned to find the building destroyed.
“We are living through a tragedy right now,” she told us. “It was a five-storey building. My mother-in-law passed away, along with a little girl who lived with her. My nephew is badly hurt.”
A neighbour on the second floor was pulled from the rubble in a critical condition and taken to hospital. Another neighbour, Claudia says, they found on the ground, lifeless.
“The anguish, because we could not find the little girl who lived with her on the fifth floor. She was trapped. They got her out. A very hard moment.”
Now in the days after the earthquake, Claudia’s family is grappling with the daily reality of trying to survive with nothing.
“We have been left without even our clothes. We do not have so much as a spoon. Nothing, nothing. We have nothing left.”
Waiting for help in Bajo Calima
Daira Perlaza Valencia (right), legal representative and Surely Bonovera (left) of an Afro-Colombian community association which represents farmers and papachina processors.
Some of the communities worst affected by the Colombia earthquake are also the hardest to reach. In Bajo Calima, a village in Buenaventura municipality, aid had not yet arrived when we spoke to residents.
Daira Perlaza Valencia is the legal representative of ActionAid’s local women-led partner organisation ASOCHIP — the Association of Women and Men Farmers and Papachina Processors of Bajo Calima. She emphasised the need for urgent support in Bajo Calima.
“Some of us have been left with our homes in ruins. Some people have no shelter and nowhere to go.”
“We are waiting for help with mattresses, mosquito nets and food… medicines to treat wounds, because many people were injured by things falling from the roofs of their homes. So, we are waiting for support, and we would be deeply grateful if you could support us and make a contribution.”
“Families who need us at this time”
Rosinda Ariasco is president of the grassroots community association in the Rockefeller neighbourhood, in Buenaventura’s Commune 7. She has spent the days since the earthquake organising support for displaced neighbours.
“Right now we are dealing with the aftermath of the earthquake that struck on Monday, which damaged many homes. Many families are currently displaced.”
“We have families in need, and so far we are seeking cooperation and support from anyone who can help, so that we can bring a little more relief to these families who need us at this time.”
Rosinda also shared her gratitude to ActionAid supporters who are donating to the relief efforts. “We are grateful for any kind of help and support,” she said. “We are ready to receive it. Thank you very much.”
Ensuring support reaches those who need it most
Egido Sanz, acting Country Director of ActionAid Colombia, has warned that longstanding inequalities are shaping both the impact of the earthquake and communities’ ability to recover.
“An earthquake is a natural phenomenon, but the scale of the disaster cannot be explained solely by the movement of the Earth,” she said. “It has struck areas already marked by poverty, armed conflict, geographical isolation, the precarious conditions of many homes, and very limited access to water, healthcare and other essential services.”
“We are facing a natural event whose impact has been profoundly exacerbated by years of exclusion and insufficient institutional presence.”
While rescue efforts and international attention have focused heavily on more accessible urban areas, ActionAid is concerned that communities facing the greatest barriers to access could receive less support.
“Urban areas are more visible and easier to access, so there is a risk that humanitarian aid will be concentrated there whilst rural communities remain neglected,” says Sanz.
How ActionAid is responding to the Colombia earthquake
In Buenaventura, local and women-led organisations supported by ActionAid have been responding since the first moments after the earthquake, drawing on their knowledge of their communities and existing networks to identify needs and provide support.
ActionAid is supporting food assistance with UNICEF and the World Food Programme, and support is also being mobilised for emergency health needs in harder-to-reach communities, including medical and laboratory supplies, at a time when health facilities have themselves been damaged or overwhelmed.
For Indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities in the region, plans are focussed on distributing hygiene and dignity kits, while further assessments with local partners will help determine how remaining emergency funds should be prioritised.
Sanz said resources must reach the organisations already embedded in affected communities: “It is also essential that resources reach local organisations, which already have access, experience, knowledge and the trust of the communities, in a flexible and timely manner. Strengthening these capacities will enable aid to reach people more quickly and truly address the communities’ priorities.”
ActionAid’s existing presence in Colombia means we can reach communities quickly with urgent relief, such as emergency shelter, clean water, food, medical care, sanitation, protection and cash support. Donate to the Colombia Earthquake Emergency Appeal to help us scale up the emergency response and reach more people in need.