Colombia earthquake: "Children keep asking their parents about what if there's another earthquake and their house falls down"
Two weeks after a devastating earthquake struck western Colombia, a couple who have spent 14 years supporting children in one of Buenaventura’s most vulnerable communities are now opening their doors to families who have lost their homes – while trying to help children cope with the trauma.
José Fernando and his wife María Teresa, run Fundación Nueva Vida, through which they have spent more than a decade supporting children with food, health checks and education. Since the 7.4-magnitude earthquake, their community centre has become an emergency hub, providing meals and distributing food, mattresses, sheets and other essentials to families whose homes have been destroyed or damaged. José says the earthquake is also having a profound impact on children's ability to learn and feel safe; “The children are finding it hard to concentrate, due to the situation”
Staff and tutors have been visiting children and their families regularly, while the organisation continues to provide food and other support. Around 135 children supported by Fundación Nueva Vida are estimated to have had their homes completely destroyed, although the organisation does not yet have comprehensive figures for the wider community. One child from the programme was seriously injured when a wall fell on her and is now recovering.
For José and María Teresa, the response is an extension of the work they have been doing with children for years. Their programme began around 14 years ago, when many of the children were just three, four or five years old. Some have since finished secondary school, gone to university or entered vocational training. The organisation's original aim was to help children avoid being drawn into violence in an area that had previously experienced high levels of conflict. They dedicated Fundación Nueva Vida to combating generational poverty and youth vulnerability in Buenaventura’s most underserved neighbourhoods. Through long-term community development, their core programs provided children with after-school tutoring, safe spaces away from street violence, and mentorship to guide teenagers toward higher education and vocational careers. “The objective we had from the beginning was exactly that, making sure children were not going to be part of the groups that are causing violence in the city,” says José... “This was one of the most violent areas of the city before and it is one of the quietest, safest areas nowadays, so I think we have achieved something.”
Now, the couple are using the trust they have built over years to identify families most in need. María Teresa keeps a list of families whose homes have been destroyed or badly damaged. They call people directly and ask them to come to the centre to collect whatever assistance is available, prioritising those who have lost their homes completely. “We don’t leave because a lot of people arrived here, because there is a lot of need. So we want them to be the priority,” José said. The earthquake has left many families staying with relatives, while others remain in severely damaged homes. For those who, from ActionAid have lost everything, rebuilding is the most urgent priority. José continues; “What they all mostly say they need is to rebuild their houses,”.
A community member told him she had received food and other basic supplies but needed materials to rebuild her home. “I have food, I have a few things I have received but I need to rebuild my house,” she told José. The need is becoming increasingly urgent as the weeks pass. José described visiting one small house where 10 family members were living together with almost nothing. José said, “I think, oh God, how long can these people live like this? If this is not solved quickly, this could have serious consequences.”
The earthquake has also compounded longstanding challenges in Buenaventura, where communities have faced poverty, conflict, unreliable access to water and underinvestment in infrastructure for decades. José says that even before the earthquake, water shortages meant some families could go several days without a reliable supply. In the past two weeks, unusually high sea levels have also flooded streets and carried rubble from destroyed homes out to sea, adding to residents' fears.
A spokesperson from ActionAid, who has spent five days in Buenaventura meeting affected families, said the psychological impact on children has been particularly striking. “One of the most common things we’ve been hearing is that people, especially children, are really traumatised by what has happened. They’re not able to sleep, their mental health is suffering, and children keep asking their parents about what if there’s another earthquake and their house falls down.”
The trauma is particularly significant because many communities were already living with the effects of violence and displacement. She explained, “This is on top of the fact that a lot of these communities have already experienced a lot of violence and conflict between armed groups; many people have been displaced by violence.”
ActionAid is supporting local organisations to provide psychosocial support, food and essential supplies. In San Isidro, a remote community three to four hours from Buenaventura through rainforest and areas controlled by armed groups, residents told ActionAid the team’s visit was the first external assistance they had received since the earthquake, nearly two weeks earlier. The community’s school has also been damaged, leaving children without a place to attend classes.
An ActionAid spokesperson said: “It’s really vital that rural communities get the support they need and aren’t left behind in the response to the earthquake.”
ActionAid is working with local organisations that have a longstanding presence in the affected communities and are responding to both immediate and longer-term needs. Current response activities include health support through Barco Hospital San Raffaele, a Colombian health organisation providing healthcare and community health support to communities along the Pacific coast, and the distribution of essential items, personal care kits and shelter supplies through civil society organisations EMAÚS Buenaventura, Fundación Huellas que Transforman (Footprints that Transform) and Fundación Vida (Life Foundation).
ActionAid is also supporting organisations including Fundación Nueva Vida, whose deep roots and longstanding relationships in communities are helping to identify families most in need and provide food, essential supplies and support to children affected by the earthquake. Other local partners of ActionAid Colombia are continuing to carry out assessments as the response develops, including in harder-to-reach communities where assistance has been slower to arrive.
For José and María Teresa, the priority remains the children they have supported for years – and the wider community that now depends on them. “We have tried to stay close to them during this time,” José said.
As Buenaventura navigates the long road to recovery, the presence of leaders like José and María Teresa offers a beacon of stability to the community they know and whose culture they understand. By expanding their mission from youth mentorship to vital community survival, with support, Fundación Nueva Vida is working to ensure that the neighbourhoods future and its children are not lost to the ruins.
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