Breaking: BJJ Camp XP Launches Calima Earthquake Fundraiser as Jiu-Jitsu Community Rallies for Colombia
Support Us By Sharing!
BJJ Camp XP Calima earthquake relief fundraiser supporting Colombian families after the August 10, 2026 earthquake.
CALIMA, Colombia — The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu community is rallying around a place many grapplers have come to consider a second home.
BJJ Camp XP has launched an emergency relief campaign for families in Calima, Colombia, after a devastating 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia on August 10, 2026. The BJJ Camp XP Calima earthquake fundraiser aims to turn the international jiu-jitsu community’s support into food, water, temporary shelter and longer-term recovery assistance for people directly affected by the disaster.
The U.S. Geological Survey recorded the magnitude-7.4 earthquake near San José del Palmar in Colombia’s Chocó department. Colombia’s own geological service also measured the quake at 7.4 and described it as the country’s largest recorded earthquake of the 21st century.
The human toll has continued to rise.
In the latest national balance published by the Colombian presidency, authorities reported 265 deaths, 3,494 injuries and 496 people missing, with more than 25,000 families affected. Search, rescue and humanitarian operations remain underway across the hardest-hit regions.
Calima Hit Close to Home for the Jiu-Jitsu Community
For BJJ Camp XP, this disaster did not strike some distant destination.
Calima has become one of the organization’s signature locations. The official BJJ Camp XP website promotes training experiences around Lake Calima that combine Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with hiking, waterfalls, paddleboarding and other outdoor activities. The organization says its relationship with the community extends well beyond the mats.
According to the fundraiser, BJJ Camp XP has worked in Calima since 2022, building relationships with local families, athletes, children and small businesses along the way.
That connection now carries a very different weight.
Calima-El Darién suffered serious consequences from the earthquake. Local reporting confirmed that four children died following the collapse of part of a school in Calima, while the municipality and surrounding Valle del Cauca region dealt with widespread structural damage and injuries.
Against that backdrop, the BJJ Camp XP Calima earthquake fundraiser has become an effort to return some of the support the town has given visiting grapplers over the years.
In its Instagram appeal, BJJ Camp XP summed up the message simply:
“Different academies. Different countries. One community.”
That idea cuts to the heart of what the campaign represents.
Competition may divide athletes by academy, belt, weight class and nationality when they step onto the mat. Disaster does not.
Where the Money Is Going
For supporters in the United States, Xperience Worldwide has opened a GoFundMe titled “Support Calima Families After the Earthquake.”
At the time JMurrayAthletics checked the fundraiser Thursday morning, the campaign showed $419 raised toward an $8,000 goal through eight donations. Because donations remain active, that total can change quickly.
The organizer says it has started a “Censo de Necesidades,” or needs census, with contacts on the ground in Calima. The process aims to determine which families suffered the greatest losses and what they need most urgently.
The campaign says donations may support:
- Food and drinking water
- Basic household essentials
- Temporary assistance and safe shelter
- Help recovering belongings
- Emergency support for displaced families
- Construction materials and home repairs as verified needs become clearer
The organizer also says it plans to publish updates whenever possible so donors can see how the support reaches the community.
There is an important transparency point for potential donors: BJJ Camp XP states directly that it is not a nonprofit organization. The GoFundMe lists Xperience Worldwide as the campaign organizer, with the money being coordinated through BJJ Camp XP’s existing relationships in Calima.
That distinction does not diminish the relief effort, but readers should know who is collecting and distributing the money before contributing.
Donations From Latin America
BJJ Camp XP is also directing supporters in Latin America toward Vaki, a crowdfunding platform commonly used throughout the region.
The organization says the Vaki donation link is available through its Instagram bio. Because JMurrayAthletics could independently verify the U.S. GoFundMe but could not retrieve XP’s specific Vaki campaign directly through Instagram, readers in Latin America should access it through BJJ Camp XP’s official Instagram post and profile rather than through unofficial reposts.
This Is Bigger Than Jiu-Jitsu
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu often gets reduced to tournaments, medals, rivalries and submissions.
But anyone who spends enough time around the sport sees another side.
Academies travel together. Competitors open their homes to visiting teammates. Training partners become friends. Camps turn unfamiliar destinations into communities that people return to year after year.
JMurrayAthletics has covered that community-driven side of grappling before, from the volunteer culture surrounding grassroots BJJ events such as Sunshine & Submissions to previous charitable efforts within the sport.
Calima now needs that same community mentality on a much larger scale.
The BJJ Camp XP Calima earthquake fundraiser offers grapplers outside Colombia a direct way to respond to a disaster affecting people who have hosted, trained with and welcomed members of the international BJJ community.
You do not need to have attended a camp in Colombia to help.
A donation helps. Sharing the fundraiser helps. Sending the campaign to another academy helps.
For a community built around learning how to support one another under pressure, this is one of those moments when that principle matters far beyond the mats.
Calima, estamos con ustedes.
How to Help
United States:
Donate through the official BJJ Camp XP / Xperience Worldwide GoFundMe
Latin America:
Visit BJJ Camp XP’s official Instagram and use the Vaki link provided by the organization.
Readers who cannot donate can still support the relief effort by sharing the verified fundraiser with their academy, teammates, friends and social networks.
About the Author
Discover more from JMURRAYATHLETICS
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
