As Colombia begins to assess the damage from the powerful earthquake that struck the country, Colombians living thousands of miles away in Los Angeles are facing a familiar question: How can we help from here?
The earthquake has triggered an emergency response inside Colombia, with humanitarian organizations assessing damage and mobilizing assistance for communities affected by the disaster. For Colombians in Southern California—and for anyone in Los Angeles who wants to help—the most immediate question is where a donation can make a real difference.
The Colombian Red Cross is among the organizations involved in the response. Its teams are working with local authorities and emergency responders to assess needs and provide assistance to affected communities.
For people in Los Angeles who want to contribute, one of the most effective ways to help in the early stages of a disaster is generally to donate money rather than send goods. Financial contributions allow established relief organizations to purchase what is needed locally and adjust their response as conditions change.
Direct Relief, the Southern California-based humanitarian organization, has also announced that it is responding to the earthquake and assessing medical needs in Colombia. The organization works with local health partners to deliver medicines and medical supplies where they are needed.
For the Colombian community in Los Angeles, the response may also become a matter of solidarity among people who have left family, friends and entire communities behind in Colombia.
Los Angeles has one of the largest Colombian communities in the United States, and the Colombian Consulate in Los Angeles has long worked with community organizations and volunteers through its Colombia Nos Une program. The network connects Colombians in Southern California with community resources and initiatives and could become an important channel for local relief efforts as the situation develops.
The question now is whether those networks will mobilize again.
There is a history of Colombians in Los Angeles responding when disaster strikes home. After the 2017 disaster in Mocoa, Colombia, Colombian community leaders in Los Angeles organized to collect assistance and connect local donors with people in need. Among them was Darío Monsalve of Colombianos en Acción, who helped mobilize thousands of contacts in Southern California.
The response to the current earthquake is still developing, and community organizations are expected to determine what kind of assistance will be most useful as more information becomes available.
For now, relief experts generally caution against sending unsolicited clothing, food or other goods directly to disaster zones. Without an established distribution network, donated goods can become difficult to transport, store and distribute. A box of clothes collected in Los Angeles may feel like a tangible way to help, but if no organization has requested those items or has a system to receive them, the shipment can create an additional logistical burden.
That does not mean Angelenos cannot organize local collections. Colombian churches, businesses, community groups and civic organizations can play an important role, particularly if they coordinate their efforts with established relief organizations. Before collecting money or supplies, organizers should determine exactly where the donations will go, who will receive them and how they will be transported and distributed.
Readers should also be careful with social-media fundraisers. In the aftermath of a disaster, requests for money can spread rapidly through Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and other platforms. Before donating through an individual or informal fundraiser, verify who is collecting the money, where it will go and whether the organization has a documented connection to the relief effort.
For those with relatives or friends in the affected areas, the first step may simply be to check on them directly. Earthquakes can disrupt communications, transportation and access to basic services, and family and community networks sometimes know about urgent needs before they appear in official reports.
For anyone who wants to organize a relief drive in Los Angeles, the same principle applies: coordinate first. Rather than collecting whatever people are willing to donate, organizers can ask established organizations what is actually needed and what they can accept. That approach can turn the generosity of the Colombian community into assistance that reaches people more quickly and efficiently.
Where Angelenos Can Start
The Colombian Red Cross is one of the most direct channels for supporting emergency relief inside Colombia.
Direct Relief, based in Southern California, is assessing medical needs and mobilizing assistance for the response.
The Colombian Consulate in Los Angeles can provide information about official channels and community initiatives in Southern California, including its Colombia Nos Une network.
As the emergency develops, those recommendations may change. The needs during the first days of an earthquake—search and rescue, emergency medical care and shelter—can be different from the needs that emerge weeks later, when communities begin rebuilding homes, schools and businesses.
For the Colombian community in Los Angeles, however, the desire to help is immediate.
The earthquake may have happened thousands of miles away, but for many Colombians here, the distance is measured not in miles but in family ties.
For many Colombian families in Los Angeles, the earthquake is not happening somewhere far away. It is happening to someone they know.
