WCC interview: ACT Alliance calls for solidarity, support after visiting earthquake-torn Colombia, Venezuela

Rudelmar Bueno de Faria, general secretary of the ACT Alliance, recently visited Colombia and Venezuela in the wake of earthquakes in both countries. He reflects on the humanitarian work—and why communities are ready to lead it. Ground zero of the disaster, Caraballeda, La Guaira. HEKS/EPER Venezuela team. Photo: Ricardo Noite/HEKS/EPER 8 September 2026 What was the purpose of your visits?  Bueno de Faria: The purpose was not only to express solidarity, but to understand how the response is unfolding in practice: where ACT members are adding value, where important gaps remain, and what these emergencies tell us about localization, community-led humanitarian action and the changing international humanitarian system. What was your biggest takeaway?  Bueno de Faria: My principal conclusion is clear: ACT members and their partners are doing important and distinctive humanitarian work, particularly by reaching communities that larger response mechanisms do not easily reach and by strengthening, rather than replacing, local capacity. But this work cannot be sustained at the scale required without substantially greater support from our ecumenical, faith-based, and multi-religious partners. How does the ACT Alliance work through local actors rather than replacing them? Bueno de Faria: One of the strongest impressions from both countries was the contrast between the ACT approach and much international humanitarian implementation. ACT's international members are not simply establishing parallel delivery structures. They are deliberately working through churches, community organizations, national nongovernmental organizations, and other established local actors. This is localization in practice: international capacity backing local leadership, rather than international capacity displacing it. In community-led response, preparedness is not simply the pre-positioning of supplies. It also means investing in organizations, relationships, knowledge, and leadership before an emergency occurs. Rudelmar Bueno de Faria, general secretary of the ACT Alliance. Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC What did you learn about humanitarian reform? Bueno de Faria: Meetings with donor representatives raised broader questions about the direction of humanitarian reform. A community reachable only after six hours by river cannot be assessed using the same assumptions about cost and delivery time as a community beside a major road. An organization navigating changing government authorizations cannot always deliver against a linear implementation schedule. A local organization responding for the first time at this scale may require accompaniment and flexibility rather than another layer of compliance requirements. The humanitarian system needs to become better at recognizing context, trust, subsidiarity, and local leadership as dimensions of effectiveness. What is your call to churches and people of good will everywhere?  Bueno de Faria: What I saw in Colombia and Venezuela gives me confidence in the quality and direction of the ACT response. Our members are cooperating. They are working with national organizations rather than bypassing them. They are drawing on the trust of churches and established community structures. They are reaching rural, riverine and underserved communities that might otherwise receive little assistance. But this model needs funding. Flexible and minimally earmarked contributions are particularly valuable because they allow members and communities to adapt the response as needs change. I also encourage members with relationships to institutional donors to advocate for funding approaches that recognize the real costs of reaching remote communities, adequately finance national and local partners, and allow sufficient flexibility for community-led planning. My visits to Colombia and Venezuela reinforced a conviction that has become increasingly important for ACT Alliance: localization is not primarily about transferring activities from international organizations to national organizations. The approach is working. The communities are ready to lead. Our members and partners are present. What is urgently needed now is the solidarity and financial support that will allow them to scale up and sustain the response. ACT Alliance ACT Alliance issues alert for earthquake response in Venezuela (WCC news release, 26 June 2026) WCC extends prayers for all affected by earthquakes in Venezuela (WCC news release, 25 June 2026) Churches respond to earthquake in Colombia with solidarity and accompaniment (WCC news release, 11 August 2026) WCC extends prayers to those affected by earthquake in Colombia (WCC news release, 11 August 2026) See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 356 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa.  Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland