For this week's episode, Richard McColl and Emily Hart connected with two humanitarian organisations working on the ground in the wake of last Monday's earthquake.
Today, they are joined by Juan Camilo Jiménez, currently in Pereira working for World Central Kitchen, and Pamela Londoño, working in Cali for Hope Project Colombia.
Beyond the drama of rubble and rescue, World Central Kitchen and Hope Project work with food and health to accompany people directly after a disaster but also in the weeks which follow, as they find new homes, rebuild their lives, and process what has happened to their communities.
World Central Kitchen (WCK) provides fresh meals in response to humanitarian and climate crises: they have set up food trucks and community kitchens, as well as funding local restaurants to cook meals for victims of the crisis which followed the earthquake.
https://donate.wck.org/campaign/749360/donate
Project Hope is a global health and humanitarian organisation which has been assessing the impact of the earthquake on local medical facilities and the wider health system.
https://www.projecthope.org/news-stories/responses/colombia-earthquake-how-to-help/ Juan Camilo and Pamela spoke about the importance of local knowledge and community, especially when it comes to sustainability and getting responses right: they tell us that the humility of arriving with energy and the right questions is crucial to forming a response which not only serves but also makes the most of the community itself, incorporating its existing structures and expertise.
Tailoring responses to local needs and local wants, the two told us about the importance of adaptation, arepas de chócolo, and creating the conditions for local solutions: Colombians supporting Colombians.
