Disaster Response Morocco Project #7011

Support High Atlas community earthquake resilience

by Global Diversity Foundation

Project Report | Sep 14, 2023
Meeting immediate needs, planning the seeds of a resilient future

By Simran Rawat, Tasnim Elboute, Susannah McCandless | for the Project Team

Sheltering in an Ait L'kak orchard as cold arrives

Update Sep 13, 2023, 11 pm Morocco time

Thanks to your generosity and that of hundreds of other incredible donors, as of 13 September 2023, we have raised 105,000 GBP across our two crowdfunding campaigns, here on GlobalGiving and via PayPal. We also learned today that we will receive important support from GlobalGiving as part of its disaster relief fund. Our gratitute to you, our donors, and to GlobalGiving for lifting up our work!

This is a marathon, not a sprint. Directing international donors to this GlobalGiving project, our amazing colleagues at Moroccan Biodiversity and Livelihoods Association (MBLA) wrote on their Instagram today, 13 September 2023:

"The devastating reality that Atlas communities must endure in the months ahead is heart-wrenching. Thousands of lives have been lost, and hundreds of thousands find themselves displaced, exposed to the harsh cold of the night with no shelter. Once-beautiful villages now lie in ruins.

The path to rebuilding these communities, restoring their livelihoods, and returning a sense of normalcy will be challenging and lengthy. The trauma these communities will carry with them is unimaginable.

It is only through solidarity that we can alleviate their suffering and aid in rebuilding their lives. Your support is crucial and greatly appreciated for the long road ahead. Volunteers and resources will be essential, both now and in the coming months. Please keep these communities in your thoughts, and if you are unable to support today, know that your help will still be invaluable in the future.”

What we did today

Our team went to assess the damage and provide essentials (blankets, rugs, food) in Ait L’kak village, where our plant nursery is based. Houses have been rendered uninhabitable, with people camping in apple orchards, and 3 families taking shelter in MBLA's eco-museum center, which is under construction there.

Our Agadir-based team was able to procure large quantities of other essentials like blankets, basic duvets, plastic shoes, solar projectors [solar-powered lighting], and flashlights that charge with solar power. We will be able to deliver part of this to Marrakech this Friday and send part of it to Chichaoua, which has been badly affected.

What we learned:

We received news today that one village in Chichaoua is in dire need of food, clothes, tents and covers. We are now arranging a separate supplies trip to this village to ensure their urgent needs are met. We have also obtained large water containers of 1-2 tonnes capacity to help villages overcome the lack of water.

What we will do next:

We are still urgently looking for temporary housing solutions with a number of providers of tents, box homes and others, and piercing together donations and discounts for the same. At present, the priority is arranging waterproof shelter for the coming weeks and procuring thermal wear to protect against bad weather.

We have also started creating a theory of change for short, mid and long-term intervention to ensure that we keep account of needs over time and position ourselves to help communities restore their ways of life as soon as possible. The strategy accounts for everything from medical care to employment regeneration, agropastoralism and earthquake-safe yet traditional home rebuilding.

New and continuing collaborations

We are in touch with various organisations and experts to facilitate this theory of change process and provide inputs to ensure that all interventions consider factors like terrain, traditional practices, biodiversity, and community welfare. Team member Ibitissam provided updates to the Guardian on their Guardian in Focus podcast, which can be heard here. We'll share more about that interview soon. CNN coverage of the team’s relief efforts in Tinisekt went live and they will accompany us on some future visits as well.

We are grateful for your support.

Images (Source: MBLA Instagram, mbla.morocco, 13 Sep 2023)

Cover: A family's shelter in an Ait L’kak apple orchard

1. Damage to a family’s home in Ait L’kak

2. Damage to traditional construction in Ait L’kak

3. Tinisekt, where CNN accompanied the team today, 13 Sep 2023

___________

A family's home, collapsed in Ait L'kak

Damage to traditional construction, Ait L'kak

Tinisekt, where CNN accompanied the team today

Links:

The Guardian podcast, Today in Focus - interview with Ibtissam

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Sep 14, 2023
Following the bulldozers in to provide aid - Update 12/09/23- 11 pm Morocco time

By Simran Rawat, Tasnim Elboute, Susannah McCandless | for the Project Team

Thanks to your generosity and that of hundreds of incredible donors, we have raised 98,500 GBP in 72 hours across our 2 crowdfunding campaigns, here on GlobalGiving and on PayPal. We have also received generous donations for our relief efforts from Choose Love Foundation and the Hans Wildorf Foundation.

What we did today:

Today our GDF and MBLA (Moroccan Biodiversity and Livelihoods) team made its way towards the epicentre in Ighil, where roads were opened for the first time. We followed the bulldozers and were amongst the first medical aid to reach the area. We continue to coordinate transport (see image): we are organising medical caravans that bring volunteer doctors and nurses as well as medical supplies to areas of greatest need. Our visit today covered villages Aguerd, Ighrem and Warti. We also tried to reach the village of Agrd, but roads were still blocked.

What we learned:

In the epicentre, communities have already evacuated homes, so we provided them with covers and blankets (see image). We have also provided water storage units. There continued to be aftershocks in the area today and we noted with sadness that most homes have been rendered uninhabitable in Ait Lkak, where one of our organization’s plant nurseries is located (see image of another nursery, below).

Most communities in Imegdal have now received initial deliveries of food, water and first aid. On day 1 of our delivery efforts, we covered 9 villages, and on day 2 we covered 15.

What we will do next:

We are now urgently trying to provide tents, mattresses and thermal clothing to communities, to prepare for bad weather due to start Thursday, 14 September.

To do so, we’ve established partnerships with DHL’s Humanitarian Assistance branch to ship supplies from different parts of the world. We are currently mobilising networks and sponsors to donate supplies that are scarce in Morocco. Can you help? Email Tasnim,

New and continuing collaborations

We are also now collaborating with the animal charity SPANA for a combined approach to help animal-dependent communities, and with VItal Voices, founded by former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Today we gave updates to the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) to provide them on-ground expertise in advance of their upcoming visit to the High Atlas. We also continued to support news coverage with live inputs from the field.

Friends, a deep bow of gratitude for making our work possible--

Abderrazak, Emily, Fatiha, Fayçal, Gary, Hafida, Hakima, Lorén, Lorenza, Nessie, Nihad, Simran, Susannah, Tasnim, Ugo, and Youssef for the Global Diversity Foundation team

Abdellah, Ahmed, Fadma, Ferdaousse, Hamou, Hamid, Hassan, Ibtissam, Meryem, Mohamed, Omar, Rachid, the other Rachid, Soufiane, Touda, and the other Youssef for the Moroccan Biodiversity and Livelihoods team

Additional Images:

-Some of the blankets and covers we delivered Tuesday (Source: MBLA INstagram, @mbla.morocco, 12 Sep 2023 video still)

-Team member & community researcher Hamid, who is from Imegdal, thanking donors for aid delivered. (Source: MBLA Instagram, @mbla.morocco, 12 Sep 2023 video still)

-A joint GDF/MBLA High Atlas plant nursery at Ouikmaden, pre-quake (Source: MBLA Instagram, @mbla.morocco, 31 Jan 2023 video still)

-Messaging encouraging coordination of aid delivery (Source: GSF INstagran, @global_diversity 10 Sep 2023)

Blankets we delivered: Imegdal, High Atlas, 12 Sep

Team member Hamid, from Imegdal, thanks aid donors

A GDF-MBLA High Atlas plant nursery, pre-quake

Coordinated aid delivery: safer, less traffic jams

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Sep 12, 2023
Aid lessons from pack animals: be nimble, determined and responsive to conditions

By Simran Rawat, Tasnim Elboute & Susannah McCandless | Project team

High Atlas Ait Atta nomad & pack animal pre-quake

Update from the field, Sep 11, 2023

Thanks to the generosity of hundreds of incredible donors, we have raised 75,000 GBP in 48 hours across our 2 crowdfunding campaigns. These funds are currently being used to directly buy urgent supplies and pay for their transport.

What we did today,

Today the joint Moroccan Biodiversity and Livelihoods Association (MBLA) and Global Diversity Foundation (GDF) team brought supplies of food and water to 8 villages in Imegdale commune. We encountered strong aftershocks in Tizintas and severely damaged roads. The area is badly affected, and many villages haven’t received much aid as many roads are blocked and trucks unable to traverse the terrain at present. Community leaders collected supplies from drop off points via mules and donkeys, due to the blockage of roads.

what we learned,

Given the crucial role of livestock in relief efforts, we are also partnering with animal aid organisations to carry fodder and water for animals in future expeditions. Our livestock consultant will also be accompanying the field team tomorrow.

…and what we will do tomorrow.

Today we were able to gather many supplies via donations, as well as through tireless procurement efforts by our team. We will be sending a big shipment of blankets, along with other essentials tomorrow. We are still urgently looking for large quantities of tents, so please get in touch if you can assist us in sourcing those.

Responding to evolving needs

We are developing a coordinated volunteer response and careful aid matching mechanism to ensure that communities in the region where we work get what they need the most.

We are populating maps of affected sites based on inputs from communities as many areas are receiving less attention than others and need relief to be directed there. Our process of needs assessment is constantly evolving, and the team has assessed varied needs in different regions.

- Imegdale is in dire need of tents and blankets as people are sleeping on the streets. Worse weather is anticipated later in the week.

- Tineskt requires solar collectors

- Ameslane needs food.

We are working to procure these supplies and send them to each area.

Providing coordinated aid means being nimble, and following knowledgeable direction

…and sometimes not proceeding with an established plan!

We did not send a planned excursion to Amzmiz today (11 September), as they informed us that they now have enough food and water. As per their request, we will now provide those supplies on Thursday, 14 September. Instead, we connected UK Med with a list of villages in Amzmiz that needed urgent attention.

We observed many volunteers and heavy traffic during our field visit today. While well-intentioned, many people trying to help have inadvertently ended up causing jams on the road and are unaware of how and where to proceed. This is why we are now trying to encourage volunteers and other organisations to join our field visits due to our extensive knowledge of the High Atlas and the needs of communities.

Working through partnerships and our international networks

We also connected JDC (American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee) to medical aid organisation Amis du CHU to donate medical supplies and have established contact with the US Consul General in Morocco, the UK Embassy and the World Bank to discuss how assistance may be brought in from overseas. We are also working with BBC, CNN, the UK Embassy, UNESCO and the Guardian to provide reliable updates from the field.

Updated list of partners:

Amis du CHU, Cadi Ayyad University, CorpsAfrica, EBF, Imal Initiative, Joud Foundation

Images:

High Atlas nomad Brahim’s pack animals in happier times. Brahim’s family are part of the Ait Atta tribe, with traditional rights to Igourdane Agdal (seasonal community-managed pastures), High Atlas, Morocco. Image: Inanç Tekguc, Eda Elif Tibet

Traffic jams on damaged roads from well-meaning donors Image: MBLA/GDF

Delivering supplies on Sep 11, 2023 for pickup by donkey and mule in Imegdale region, High Atlas, Morocco. Video stills MBLA/GDF

Unloading supplies for pickup in Imedgale, 11 Sep

Donkeys and mules will help pick up these supplies

Aid vehicles clog damaged roads to Imegdale 11 Sep

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