MOROCCO EARTHQUAKE - URGENT APPEAL

THEY NEED HELP AND URGENT CARE: Food, water, blankets, tents so they can survive in the next days and weeks.

And we will need to help them rebuild their homes, schools and sometimes whole villages QUICKLY AS WINTER IS APPROACHING FAST.

I am like many of you, extremely sad following the devastating earthquake in MOROCCO. I feel the pain and the extreme suffering of my beautiful country and its beautiful and kind people.

People have died, lost loved ones, the whole country is mourning. And on top of the extreme pain of losing dear family members, children, parents, many of them have lost their homes and have nothing left in very deprived areas of Morocco.

As many of you have been asking how they can land their support, I have decided to create this SUPPORT FUND in partnership with a local Moroccan charity ''NDIR LKHIR'' who is already very present in these highly affected areas helping the population on a regular basis and in direct contact with people in the region. They need financial help to buy and provide people in need. They can get there fast and are already delivering a 1st batch of supply today on Monday 11th of September with 300+ food baskets containing (dates, bread, water, cooking oil, long lasting food items such as packaged cheese and long lasting milk) and prime necessity equipment. Many of those food baskets will be going to the most affected region around the earthquake epicentre in the High Atlas and Lesser Atlas (Haut et Anti Atlas): Al Haouz, Moulay Brahim, Taliouine, Taroundant... Today, they are preparing 1000 food baskets + equipment for the affected city of Taroudant and its region.

I have decided to support a small Moroccan NGO because they are on the ground, they are agile and know the region and its people. The International help will come but will not be as fast. Some of the global NGOs are waiting for authorisations before they can get there.

Any contribution is a good contribution. All the money will be used to provide:

- 1st: Fast supply of food, drinkable water (most of the water wells have been destroyed), equipment such as blankets and tents, clothes

- 2nd: support to rebuild homes and schools. Depending on the volume of funds we gather, they might focus on specific villages. Rebuilding is important and urgent. These affected villages are for most of them in the mountains where it’s going to start getting cold in a month's time. It’s the region of Morocco that experiences snow.

In this region of the High & Lesser Atlas, the inhabitants are facing life day by day. They have no savings and the workers have no fixed jobs. They find temporary jobs every day. The food on the table is dependent on that daily work. Without solidarity, it will be difficult for them to survive in the next few months.

I AM CALLING ON YOUR HELP. WHATEVER YOU CAN GIVE WILL HELP SOMEONE GET A BLANKET, SOME FOOD, A PLACE TO SLEEP. AND IF WE MANAGE TO RAISE ENOUGH MONEY, WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO REBUILD THEIR FUTURE.

I am personally committed to this and will update those who are contributing on a regular basis so you can be aware of the impact you are having.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR INCREDIBLE GENEROSITY!!!

Firdaous EL HONSALI for ''NDIR LKHIR''

About ''NDIR LKHIR'': in Arabic NDIR LKHIR means DOING THE GOOD THING and in French FAIRE LE BIEN. They are a local Moroccan charity based in Casablanca started in 2010. Their mission is about helping the underprivileged in the deprived regions of Morocco. See below the actions they are taking on a daily basis outside of the earthquake.

- They build and renovate pre-schools and schools

- They send Humanitarian Caravans with food, winter clothes and equipment

- they build water pipes, water wells to give access to water to far removed villages

- They build homes in the mountains for the poorest people

- They send doctors, GPs and specialist to these regions and pay for medical equipment

www.ndirlkhir.ma