Morocco, Interrupted
Hey, I will get back to this trip report ASAP, but this message can’t wait. Morocco needs help.
In the awful wake of this earthquake, the Moroccrew put together some financial aid for Driver Abdul and Mountain Man Mohammed, two of the guides who took such good care of us over there. In the process of doing that, we heard from a mutual friend who works for GoFundMe. She put together a list of vetted places you can donate, where your money will go directly to people who need it:
I am not that worried about our new friend Mohammed, our mountain guide (who I’ll tell you more about in later posts). That dude is tough as nails, and since the quake didn’t kill him, I don’t think the aftermath will. But he is sleeping on the street because the buildings in his town aren’t safe to enter.
So I do worry about the folks who aren’t as tough as nails. Not everyone gets to be a mountaineer when they grow up. For that matter, not everyone gets to grow up. Nearly 3,000 people are dead. Among the living there are babies and kids and old folks and people who were already injured or sick before the quake struck. Many live in small towns like Mohammed’s, with few resources to help their people.
I can tell you already, he’s going to spend most of our money on other people. That’s who he is. He told us about how hard covid hit Morocco, and all the things he was doing to help back then. It’s not a particularly poor country, but it’s not particularly rich either. In the post-covid economy, a lot of folks couldn’t feed their kids. Mohammed was there to help, and it’s a good bet he’s helping now, even as I type this.
Still reeling from that, they sure as hell don’t need an earthquake. If you’re able to help, I have it on good authority that you can get your money directly to Moroccans who really need it. Here’s that link again: https://www.gofundme.com/c/act/morocco-earthquake-relief