By Alli Conroe | Senior Associate, Disaster Response
Over the last two and a half years, your generous support to the Morocco Earthquake Relief Fund has made a profound difference helping our Morocco-based nonprofit partners restore their communities -- one field, school, home, and craft at a time.
The 2023 Al Haouz earthquake marked the strongest earthquake ever recorded in Morocco and touched communities even as far as Spain and Algeria. In response, thousands of people have come together to reimplement traditional lifeways that have sustained their families for hundreds of years, reconstructing the livelihoods and villages they call home and ensuring a future that protects the people and land for generations.
Their work is ongoing. Today, new economic opportunities are being carved out by Morocco’s own; traditional farming and lifeways are being restored one field, terrace, and seed at a time. Women’s traditional craft collectives are bringing businesses to the mountains. Education remains accessible to thousands of rural students and sustainable housing has been reinforced reconstructed with earthquake safety measures. Together, Moroccan communities are finding strength in a promising path forward.
GlobalGiving is now closing the Morocco Earthquake Relief Fund after making a final round of grants to nine deeply-rooted nonprofits continuing to support their communities through ongoing recovery.
Though this fund is closing, your donation is a seed of beginning. GlobalGiving partner, Moroccan Biodiversity and Livelihoods Association (MBLA), wanted to share this story with you:
"I lost my husband years ago. I lost my provider, my support," community member, Lalla Yamna, said, tears welling in her eyes. "Since then, I have carried the weight alone, managing the fields, trying to keep everything alive. After the earthquake, my terraces were destroyed, and I was left with nothing. No one to help me rebuild. But then MBLA came. MBLA helped me restore the terraces, and now I can irrigate and plant once more. You gave me hope. Your help means everything to me."
“Working in partnership with MBLA, community members who still hold knowledge of building traditional terraces led the restoration efforts. MBLA provided farmer field school sessions on agroecology and farmers received seeds to revive their fields," Lalla said.
"Bit by bit, life returned. The terraces turned green again, water flowed through the reconstructed canals, and hope took root once more."
"Thankfully, we are slowly returning to our lives. We will never forget the ones we lost, nor the destruction we witnessed, but we are grateful for the efforts that have helped us rebuild." Lalla Yamna concluded.
Now that the fund has closed to new donations, this will be our final report. We hope you’ll stay in touch and continue to show solidarity with the imperative work of our partners on the ground.
You can stay connected with our work through X, Instagram, Facebook, and our Learn Library, where we regularly share stories about the incredible impact of the powerful GlobalGiving community.
With gratitude,
Alli + the GlobalGiving Team
All Nonprofit Partners Who Have Received Grants from this Fund to Date:
Photo: Lalla Yamna irrigating her newly reconstructed terraces in partnership with MBLA.
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When a disaster strikes, recovery efforts led by people who live and work in affected communities are often overlooked and underfunded. GlobalGiving is changing this reality. Since 2004, we've been shifting decision-making power to crises-affected communities through trust-based grantmaking and support.
We make it easy, quick, and safe to support people on the ground who understand needs in their communities better than anyone else.
They were there long before the news cameras arrived, and they’ll be there long after the cameras leave. They know how to make their communities more resilient to future disasters, and they’re already hard at work. GlobalGiving puts donations and grants directly into their hands. Because the status quo—which gives the vast majority of funding to a few large organizations—doesn’t make sense.
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