Support High Atlas community earthquake resilience

We want to thank each and every individual that has donated to this campaign so far. It has enabled us to take action where most needed and to respond to urgent requests for support and to reach so many communities.

While our team is working tirelessy in the field in collaboration with local partners including Moroccan Biodiversity & Livelihoods Assocation, here are a few quick updates on the past two days:

• On Monday 18^th September, our team was able to provide medical treatment to 78 people in Taourirt, Semghourt, and Taghzout villages with the help of the Aerial Recovery team. We also distributed olive oil, fava beans, oranges and clothes were in Aourigh and Anammer villages (see image of Annamer, below).

• We transported a generous donation of 6 tons of animal feed to the Imegdal nursery, courtesy of Alf Tansift. We will also be sending more fodder to the nursery soon, and this will be distributed amongst surrounding villages. Local mules and donkeys are currently playing a key role in earthquake relief efforts, especially in very remote villages that are only accessible by walking. Given the lack of feed, it is essential we also support local livestock as a part of our aid strategy – as many community members no longer have the means to provide for their animals, which not only represent an important source of income but also an essential means of transport - especially in villages where vehicles cannot access.

• We continue to collect donations at the office of our partner MBLA in Marrakech, which are taken to affected villages and distributed during our field visits.

• We are also meeting with varied international NGOs to help streamline their efforts and direct their donations and expertise towards different needs and communities. As part of a long-term strategy, we are collaborating with Archimath to assess how houses can be rebuilt using paraseismic techniques and local materials.

We will be updating you again tomorrow with more information. Until then, you can follow us on Instagram or visit our website for updates.

Image 1: Beautiful agricultural terraces in Annamer village (2021).

Image 2: Providing medical aid to 78 people in Taourirt, Semghourt, and Taghzout villages with the help of the Aerial Recovery team.

Image 3: A mule carrying essential supplies on his back towards a remote village.

Thank you for your unstinting support of this project. Before our report today, some news you might be able to use:

If you're wishing your donation could do more, this week it can. From Monday 18 September through Friday, 22 September 2023, during GlobalGiving’s September Little by Little campaign, all eligible donations up to $50 USD per unique donor per organization will be matched at 50% by GlobalGiving. 

What we did today

• We helped the Aerial Recovery team set up camp in Taourirt, to provide medical assistance. They will provide aid over the next 4 days. We accompanied them with essential medicines and medical supplies. Within hours of their purchase, that donation of pharmaceutical supplies was easing pain, treating conditions and literally saving lives. Team members Youssef and Hakima translated for the doctors with great sensitivity.
  
  
• An anecdote that brings our team's commitment into clear perspective: as we were returning after dark to Marrakech on washed-out mountain roads, we learned that the interpreter we had arranged to accompany the doctors over coming days couldn't reach them until noon the next day. His daughter's school had collapsed and he had to drop her off at a more distant one. After discussing possible solutions, Hakima quite suddenly asked to be dropped at the next gendarmerie post, so she could return to the communities. That way, she could ready to interpret for the doctors the next day at 9 am to help them interact with community members in need of medical assistance.

What we learned

• We reflected today on the value of rest. The rest we are trying to enable for community members, by sourcing and delivering mattresses, blankets, and temporary shelter; and by seeking trauma counselors to meet with community members. Our own rest, amidst the work to sustain these efforts over the long haul. So, most of our team took a well-deserved rest Sunday, 17 September, after over a week of continuous visits and around-the-clock monitoring of aid requests. (See map of sites we visited this past week, below.)
  
  
• Assessing needs and coordinating relief and recovery efforts are essential at this point in the response to the crisis. GDF, MBLA and other current and potential partners are uniquely placed to assist with the recovery and resilience phases. GDF is working to build a coalition of partners that will help to address these issues and opportunities.

What we’ll do next

• The team also took the opportunity to strategise on field visits, workflow and supply distribution over the coming week. Supplies from our Agadir-based team reached Marrakech, to be distributed starting tomorrow (See image of aid, and regional map).
  
  
• This week we are procuring the materials needed to build toilets in the tented camps, in response to a request from displaced community members.

Images

1. Cover image: What we’re working to rebuild. L to R: Supporting girls' environmental education at Dar Taliba da Ourika; documenting Ait Atta nomadic herding traditions; building plant nurseries to restore wild plant abundance and supply families in High Atlas villages and community conserved areas; documenting, assessing and tracking biodiversity indicator species; and supporting cooperatives, many led by women. Source: Cover image, MBLA Facebook page, posted 19 May 2023. 

2. Material to support rest: mattresses and blankets in the first tranche of supplies assembled by our Agadir team reach Marrakech for distribution. Source: MBLA 

3. Map showing many of the sites where we provided aid in the first week after the 8 September 2023 High Atlas Earthquake. Source: GDF/MBLA Earthquake Response Map

4. Map showing the locations of Marrakech and Agadir, where our teams are based, relative to the sites of the communities we're supporting. Source: GDF/MBLA Earthquake Response Map