Strengthen Long Term Al-Haouz Earthquake Recovery

Today, our team shared highlights on our social media of the guidelines for volunteers we’ve developed (see cover image and images below).

• As part of the work to deliver aid to communities, we’re working with a multitude of volunteers. Some are community members, but many of those less affected and more able to help are coming from outside the region and cultural context of the High Atlas. These volunteers are contributing a heartfelt flow of their time, energy, material goods and resources—like the use of their cars and pickup trucks to convey aid to different sites.

• At the same time, we are collectively operating in conditions of great need, sometimes limited supplies, uncertainty, stress, trauma, and loss.  These circumstances create the need to engage in collaborative decision-making, and sometimes conflict resolution. We’re using our skills as logistics coordinators,  facilitators, team and community leaders, and consulting with mental health counselors and a host of others to inform our practice in service to communities.

What we did today

• Our Agadir-based team sent two deliveries to Marrakech containing blankets, duvets, solar projectors (lights), solar torches (flashlights) and shoes, with the help of transport donated by Itrane & Globus and Baha Trans.

• Our Marakesh-based team received distressing calls for help yesterday from Mejjat, outside Al Haouz province in the Marrakesh-Safi Region, which had received no aid since the earthquake hit. We urgently collected supplies and made the trip today to deliver 65 emergency thermal isolation blankets, clothing, and baby formula.

What we learned

• In Mejjat, we worked through an equitable distribution process when the need was great and we didn’t have enough supplies for everyone. Our team distributed these supplies to 37 families across three villages in Mejjat (Birbbou, Azilal and Orumh’end). The aid distribution process involved designating an individual to carefully identify the families in greatest need across the three villages. 

• After identifying the families, we put together 37 sets of supplies, wrote families’ names on bits of paper, and conducted a fair random selection to ensure equitable allocation, as some items were in short supply or different. The BBC accompanied our field team to conduct interviews, allowing those affected by the quake to share their stories and shed light on the organised distribution process. 

What we will do next

• Our Agadir-based team also assembled 30 sets of 2 bags, one containing basic food and the other containing hygiene products, to be distributed in Chichaoua Province, which is still in need of more basic provisions. 

• Our Marrakesh-based team also procured more supplies to create another 20 sets to be dispatched in the coming days. The rest of our Marrakech-based team gathered in the office today to strategize the best course of action over the coming days for distributing aid based on urgent needs and well-though-out resource allocation. We’ll share more about the theory of change we’ve developed to inform our work soon.

Thank you for your outpouring of support! We are grateful for your partnership.

Images:

Summary guidelines for volunteers: GDF Instagram (global_diversity) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/glbaldiversity), 15 Sep 2023.

Partners in the work: video still image from 2022, MBLA Instagram (mbla.morocco)