Updates

Who we are, what we know so far, and how the structure will work

Published: 12 August 2026 · GMT-5 (Colombia) Draft

Author: Campaign organizers — Consolidated from the organizers’ project board by the website team

The organizers’ preliminary assessment reports around 60 houses destroyed and around 220 damaged in Belalcázar, with no fatalities reported. Fundraising will run from Switzerland through a Basel-based association, with an independent Colombian foundation applying funds locally. Neither entity exists yet.

Belalcázar, a town of just under 11,000 people in the Department of Caldas, about 60 kilometres from Pereira, was severely affected by the 10 August earthquake. The organizers’ preliminary damage assessment — still ongoing and not yet independently confirmed — reports no fatalities (it is unclear whether there were injuries), around 60 houses destroyed, and around 220 houses damaged.

The initiative is organized by Andreas Toro Henao (formerly Andreas Möckli), a business journalist at bz – Zeitung für die Region Basel (CH Media), and his husband Julio Alonso Toro Henao, who was born in Colombia; they live in Basel, Switzerland. Julio’s sister, Manuela Toro Henao, lives in Belalcázar and has led the municipal health department since 2024.

Funds will be raised primarily in Switzerland through a dedicated GoFundMe page (not yet created — no donation link is active anywhere until it is verified). To put the operation on a sound legal footing, the organizers are establishing a Swiss association, “United for Belalcázar”, based in Basel, with a board of at least five members. Three people have committed so far; the organizers are looking for two to three additional members, ideally with finance and legal backgrounds.

For the Colombian side, the organizers considered working through the International Committee of the Red Cross but decided against it, out of concern that funds might not be applied specifically to Belalcázar. Instead, a reconstruction foundation will be established under Colombian law — deliberately independent of the Municipality of Belalcázar and its authorities. Donated funds are explicitly not to enter the municipal treasury. Manuela Toro Henao and Andreas Toro Henao will serve on its board; a further member may follow.

The foundation is to be set up with maximum transparency: donors should be able to review its activities at any time. This website exists to make that commitment checkable — every disbursement, fee, and decision rule will be published here as the structure becomes real.

Money moved this period

No money has been raised, received, transferred, or spent. The GoFundMe page does not exist yet.

Evidence

Obstacles and uncertainties

The Swiss association and the Colombian foundation are not yet legally established. The exact transfer method to Colombia is still being evaluated. The damage figures are preliminary, organizer-reported, and await independent confirmation. Two to three association board members are still being sought.

Next milestone

Establish the Swiss association, create and verify the GoFundMe page, and publish the transfer plan, budget rules, and foundation details.

Next update expected: 19 August 2026