Extending our embrace of compassion and solidarity
Rome, August 31, 2026
Dear Sisters and Partners-in-Mission,
At a time when emergencies and crises are becoming increasingly more frequent and more severe, the past few weeks alone have brought fear, loss, and displacement to three more Good Shepherd communities in Colombia, Indonesia, and Nepal.
These new emergencies come less than two months after we last wrote to ask you to stand with the people of Venezuela, following the two powerful earthquakes that struck the north of the country. You responded with extraordinary generosity, enabling our sisters and partners in Caracas to continue accompanying many affected families.
Today our thoughts and solidarity turn again to thousands of people, women, children, and entire families, grieving lives lost, living in damaged homes, and struggling without basic services amid an uncertainty that seems not to end. Our sisters and partners, closest to each of these affected communities, have already started listening and understanding the most urgent needs and preparing to accompany recovery and reconstruction in the months ahead.
On 10 August 2026, a magnitude-7.4 earthquake struck western Colombia, centered near San José del Palmar in Chocó. Only days later, on 15 August, the earth shook again in Indonesia, striking Flores Island in East Nusa Tenggara; continuing aftershocks around Ruteng have damaged many buildings, homes, and public facilities, some severely and others collapsing completely. Two days ago, a devastating flash flood struck Nepal’s border region with China, claiming hundreds of lives and leaving thousands still missing, while survivors remain in urgent need of basic assistance.
Our sisters and partners are still assessing the most urgent needs in Indonesia and Nepal, and GSIF is following both situations closely, ready to support their response as immediate needs become clearer; we will share further updates in the weeks ahead.
Today, we turn to you with an urgent appeal for Colombia, where the sisters and partners are already mobilized and ready to respond.
“Corazones Solidarios” for Colombia
The earthquake near San José del Palmar in Chocó caused severe damage and widespread displacement across the west of the country, including Cali, Pereira, Quibdó, and Manizales. As of 31 August, official figures reported 1003 people dead, more than 279 injured, 3916 still missing, and over 360,000 people affected across the country. Homes, schools, health centers, and essential infrastructure have been damaged or destroyed.
Families who had little to begin with have lost their homes or are afraid to return to buildings that may no longer be safe. Many are now without clean water, food, medicines, sanitation, and the basic items they need to care for themselves and their children.
For the Colombia-Venezuela Province, already accompanying families affected by the earthquakes in Venezuela, this new emergency brings an additional burden. Yet the sisters and their partners have mobilized once again, sharing the same uncertainty as the communities around them while choosing to remain close to those affected with compassion, courage and care.
The Fundación El Buen Pastor aims to reach 1,000 people across Manizales (Caldas), Pereira (Risaralda), Cali (Valle del Cauca), Quibdó (Chocó), and surrounding areas, supporting about 200 people in each location, with priority given to households facing the greatest damage and the fewest resources to recover on their own.
Their immediate necessities are food, hygiene and personal-care supplies, medicines and first aid, temporary shelter items, and psychosocial support for people facing fear and uncertainty.
In the months to follow, the Fundación El Buen Pastor, with GSIF support and in partnership with other local organizations, will help families carry out essential repairs to damaged homes and recover livelihoods disrupted by the earthquake, helping them regain safety, stability, and dignity.
To sustain this response over the next six months, approximately €300,000 will be needed to reach all 1,000 beneficiaries with immediate assistance, shelter support, and livelihood recovery.
This emergency comes while the Good Shepherd response in Venezuela continues. New needs do not erase the ones that came before. They widen the circle of solidarity we are called to join.
We know we are asking again, and we do not do so lightly, but families in Colombia are facing immediate and overwhelming needs, and our sisters and partners, even as their own communities live with the same uncertainty, continue to reach out with care and compassion.
We ask you to stand with them in this moment of fear and loss. Your gift will allow the sisters and their partners in Colombia to remain alongside families as long as it takes to recover, repair their homes and rebuild their livelihoods.
Please donate to GSIF to support the Colombia Emergency Response. Donations can be made online or by bank transfer – more information here. When donating, please use the reference: Colombia Emergency Response.
With gratitude, we remain united in mission,
Sr. Joan Marie Lopez, Congregational Leader Cristina Duranti, Director of GSIF
