Strengthen Long Term Al-Haouz Earthquake Recovery

First of all, thank you to everyone who has donated during the GlobalGiving Little by Little Campaign last week, we are grateful for your support during these challenging times.

On Friday, our Agadir based team, led by our SLP assistant Fatiha, visited 3 douars (Azilal, Ali Mhned, and Birbouin) in the commune of M'zouda in the Chichaoua Province. We distributed 30 boxes of food and hygiene products along with 25 duvets, 20 blankets, 40 mattresses, and 90 pairs of shoes to 30 families.

After assessing the situation, the team determined that these 3 douars did not need solar projectors or flashlights and returned them to Agadir to be distributed when needed. We also packed baby formula and bottles, which were subsequently given to Igun A'allah douar since the first three villages visited did not require them. Our approach is needs based and we are taking care to not inundate villages with unnecessary supplies which will later contribute to waste generation.

Meanwhile, the Marrakech team undertook an assessment trip, along with Mercy Malaysia who could potentially offer assistance in rebuilding these communities. The roads continue to be treacherous with the team braving falling debris and rocks enroute. We visited our plant nursery in Imegdal which many NGOs and the army are using as a storage location for all kinds of aid. 39 families are currently camping in the nursery.

We distributed supplies to the camp in our plant nursery, to Tiniskt and to Tinml in Talat N yacoub. Supplies included 5 boxes of vegetables, 3000 eggs, 60 bottles of shampoo, 16kg of meat, 10kg of lentils and 10kg of beans. Our focus has shifted from providing immediate food to now providing staples so that communities can resume cooking and regain some sense of normalcy.

On Saturday, both field teams took a well deserved rest today as urgent needs have been met. The team is now taking the opportunity to plan out longer interventions such as toilet construction, rebuilding of schools and winter supplies.

As we start a new week, we will continue to update you regularly of our actions on the ground, as well as our plans for a long-term strategy. We hope you know how much we appreciate your support. Thank you.

Today, two representatives from the Korean Buddhist Foundation accompanied us during our field trip. They conducted an assessment in the village of Tinisekt and are currently evaluating the situation. Their leadership is expected to arrive in Morocco in October to launch additional initiatives following their evaluation.

We were able to distribute supplies to villages of Imlil and Armed in response to a request from one of our cooperatives, Aswik. The supplies included:

• 3 big bags of clothes
• 16 socks
• 8 toys for children
• 7 Beanies
• 8 gloves
• 4 toothbrushes
• 6 packs of sanitary napkins for women
• 2 blankets
• 15 children's sandals
• 10 children's shoes
• 2 adult boots for winter
• 10 pairs of shoes for adults
• 30 solar flashlights (2 per tent)
• 5 solar projectors
• 4 packets of baby formula
• 6 bags of flour, 10 kg each

We have also identified more underserved communities where food, cookware, tents, blankets and children’s school supplies are needed, which we will provide in the next few days. We are planning to stock extra clothes and supplies to be distributed at later dates as certain villages have been inundated with excessive donations, whilst others have received less supplies. Our action plan also emphasises waste reduction and reuse of materials, including clothes.

Finally, prototypes of insulated Quonset huts are ready to be tested as temporary shelters in some of our hubs. We are also establishing contact with volunteers and organisations to set up other winter resistant temporary housing.

Thank you for your continued support. All of these actions would not have been possible without the support of our GlobalGiving community. 

Until our next report, you can follow us on Instagram or visit our website for updates.