Earthquake Relief for Moroccan Communities

On September 8, 2023, an earthquake took the lives of nearly 3,000 people and more than 5,500 were injured in the provinces of Al Haouz, Azilal, Chichaoua, Marrakech, Ouarzazate, and Taroudant. 

Within ten days, HAF and partners were able to procure, transport, and distribute supplies to 69 villages, supplying over 3,800 households with tents, blankets, mattresses, and food. Our initial distribution provided the opportunity for real-time needs assessments, and we gathered extensive data with community members to inform the direction of our response. 

In the seven months following the earthquake, HAF developed a dynamic relief program with local communities and global partners. 

• These partnerships have enabled us to distribute 653 tons of food and other essential supplies to 14,431 families. 
• HAF’s empowerment trainers facilitated 39 group-based psychosocial workshops (4 days each) for trauma response for 1,739 people (primarily women). 
• HAF and partners built 115 intermediate shelters (for 690 people), constructed water infrastructure for drinking and irrigation (7,823 beneficiaries), and restored 307 agricultural terraces (3,994 beneficiaries). 

The relief and recovery program was a rapid, strategic adaptation of HAF’s existing programs to suit the specific needs of communities affected by the earthquake.

HAF’s vision for sustainable development has been a catalyst for global partnerships with government, businesses, civil society, and academia. Since HAF annually transports thousands of tons of agricultural materials with thousands of farming families, and is with an excellent program and procurement teams, it had in place the systems and network essential for rapid assessment and response to the crisis. 

In addition to 4,000 individual contributors, HAF’s partners are:

Corporations: Amazon; Apple; BDP Cares; Cargill; Ecosia; Exodus Travel; Iberostar; Intrepid Travel; Journey Beyond Travel; Mastercard; Meta Facebook; Paramount Pictures; Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy; and Wilderness Travel.

NGOs: Annenberg; Care Highway; Choose Love; Conrad Hilton Foundation; Disney Family Foundation; GlobalGiving; Green Lewis; Human Aid; Joint Distribution Committee; King Baudouin Foundation; Korean Buddhist Foundation; LDS Charities; Mackenzie Family Foundation; Marshall Foundation; Muslim Aid, Pearl Jam’s Vitalogy; Project Hope; Robert Bosch Stiftung; Syrian American Medical Society; Tides; and Vanguard.

A commitment to strengthening networks of support prior to a natural disaster allowed HAF to mobilize international relief funds and implement contextual solutions after the earthquake, leveraging the international awareness and investment present in a post-disaster context to strengthen and expand food, water, and agricultural systems.

After initial pilot projects were implemented, importantly based on psychosocial support and empowerment, and met with highly positive feedback from stakeholders, funding was secured for expanding these initiatives in similar iterations with other communities. Displaying the success of linking locally-led design with international funding has resulted in new projects completed and ones in the process of implementation. 

Links:

• https://highatlasfoundation.org/en/our-work/earthquake-recovery