61 year old Aicha relieved to be given a new shelter

Aicha is a 61 year old widow living in Taoukarte. Two weeks ago she was living in a warm and cosy home with her 30 year old son. Their animals were housed safely in a stable at the back. Aicha’s other four children have married and settled in Agadir and other towns and cities.

As Aicha showed me inside her home, she tells me how the terrifying feelings and sounds of the earthquake still repeat in her mind every single night. Although her house appeared only lightly damaged on the surface, she is too afraid and it is too dangerous to sleep there until a government surveyor declares it is safe. This may take many months. In the meantime she stays in a makeshift tent fashioned from poles covered with polythene and carpet. It is pitched just opposite her house on open ground. She says the shelter is too small and she is worried that it will not keep out the cold winds and rain that she knows is coming with the winter.

The joy and relief on Aicha’s face was clear when she learned that she was to be given one of the six tents that REACT were supplying erecting in her village that day. The team, including neighbours and keen local children, had barely finished putting the tent up when she began moving her bedding in. A couple of wooden pallets to keep the mattress off the cold ground and a stove amongst the basics for her to be able to sleep more soundly tonight.

Aicha waved us an emotional goodbye as the team moved on to our next tasks: the delivery of piping and taps for toilets already erected by REACT in another village.

REACT Response teams have been in Morocco for almost two weeks, meeting urgent needs including the provision of shelter, sanitation and medical assistance. Our ability to rapidly assess and meet the needs of people in these remote and hard to reach villages is only made possible by your generous support.

Please consider making a donation to our Morocco Earthquake Appeal.