A south west London ex-chef has turned her kitchen into a fundraising operation, cooking homemade paellas to help families whose homes were destroyed by a devastating earthquake in her Colombian hometown.
Claudia Narvaez Echeverry, 49, from El Vergel in Valle del Cauca, launched the fundraiser after the earthquake badly damaged homes in her small community.
The 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia on 10 August, killing 331 people and injuring more than 4,500.
More than 466,000 people have been affected, with tens of thousands of homes destroyed or damaged.
The Colombian government has said its response is now moving from emergency rescue operations towards recovery and reconstruction.
Claudia’s own mother’s house was damaged in the earthquake and now needs repairs to its roof and walls.
“Seeing my mum and other families in my community facing this situation from so far away was very difficult for me,” she said.
The fundraiser aims to support Claudia’s mother as well as another family from El Vergel who lost their entire home.
Claudia has been making homemade family-sized paellas with her 25-year-old son, Rafael Leano Narvaez, and donating the profits to those affected by the earthquake.
Rafael said the earthquake had a direct impact on people close to his family.
“They lost their property. The whole house came down to the ground,” he said.
“Luckily, no members of our family were injured, but living conditions are below optimal right now.”
So far the family have raised more than £700, with the first portion of the money already sent to the Colombian local council in Claudia’s home town.
Claudia starts cooking early in the morning and can continue until 6pm or 7pm, according to Rafael.
The idea came from Claudia’s experience as a chef.
She moved to Spain more than 20 years ago, where she worked as a chef before later running a food business in the UK during the Covid pandemic.
Rafael said his mother saw an opportunity to put her paella-making skills to work, bringing people together while raising money for the cause.
“We thought, everyone likes paella in this country and it’s for a good deed. That’s where we got the whole idea,” he said.
The family is selling the paellas across Kingston, New Malden, Richmond, Wimbledon and surrounding areas.
Claudia said: “For me, this is about much more than selling paellas. It is about helping my community from afar and reminding these families that they are not alone.
“Every contribution, no matter how small, can make a real difference.”
Rafael said his mother planned to continue fundraising for as long as possible.
“We’ll just keep going, until the country is back up on its feet,” he said.
The family is continuing to take orders for its fundraising paellas, with profits going towards families affected by the earthquake in El Vergel.
Pre order is available at 07425461305.
Featured image credit: Claudia Narvaez Echeverry
