Despite the devastation of the 6.8 magnitude earthquake in Morocco on September 8th; staff and Volunteers still found the strength to carry on amidst the destruction all around them. Responding to the calls they received from people they worked with in the affected areas, CorpsAfrica alumni and staff were among the first to arrive in the field to provide the survivors in Azzaden, Sidi Fares, and Ouirgane with the necessary food, water, and other supplies.

In the aftermath of the earthquake, many Trainees and staff rushed to the “Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Mohammed VI” in Marrakech and waited for many hours to give blood. In Al Maghzen, Asmaa, our Volunteer Liaison who served in the Al Maghzen village (a few kilometers from the epicenter of the earthquake),  accompanied an NGO to the end of the road and called the villagers to meet them and transport aid on the back of donkeys and mules.

It took them more than eight hours to get to their destination from Marrakech. Mr. Yassine Kadiri, manager of the AKAR co-working space we use in Rabat, and other individuals and businesses who use the space donated 28 bags of 25 kilograms each (a total of 700 kg) of white beans, lentils, and fava beans for CorpsAfrica to distribute to the survivors of the earthquake in the damaged sites where our Volunteers served.