Stay, grow, come back to life

On the night between 8 and 9 September 2023, a strong earthquake hit the Marrakech region, Morocco. The damage was very serious: the historic buildings in the center of Marrakech and the homes in the villages were too fragile. Thousands of people died and many more were injured. The epicenter is located in an area famous for its history and its beauty, where the life of the inhabitants is however very simple and vulnerable, and depends mostly on agriculture conducted in a traditional manner.

Once again many friends immediately made themselves generously available to meet this serious emergency. That we feel in some way very "close" to the many people, families, coming from Morocco that we have known in our history; many have been guests of our house, with others important relationships and beautiful friendships have been born.

We immediately wanted to make ourselves present; we thus met and began to dialogue with the Caritas of the Archdiocese of Rabat, which carries out the social service of the small local Catholic church. Caritas Rabat intervened from the first moment, with the choice, coordinated with the authorities, to operate in villages and hamlets in the most isolated areas in the central and southern mountains of the High Atlas. Immediately, with emergency aid: in particular it took action to find food, lighting equipment, mattresses and cooking utensils and equipment, such as ovens and pots and pans. The assistance then turned to protection from the incipient cold and the rigors of winter: warm clothing, blankets and heating appliances, up to the construction of durable and essential elements such as sanitary systems, public bathrooms and showers, reconstruction of entire homes .

Our support for Caritas Rabat intends to support projects that strengthen the means of subsistence of families, restoring their autonomy and - above all - the possibility of continuing to remain in their villages, where the work activities that before earthquake gave life were totally devastated. The interventions are intended to create the conditions to be able to resume life in these places, so as not to abandon them, reducing the vulnerability of the communities and making them grow in the name of autonomy, balance, care and cohesion.

First of all, with projects to relaunch and improve local economic activities; with important technical support and training interventions, preparatory to the supply of equipment, materials and financial resources. With the aim, through courses of 12-18 months, to recover the activities impacted by the earthquake and, above all, consolidate them to improve their profitability, and therefore people's living conditions.

In particular, we support a large project, now underway, to promote the autonomy of women in the countryside and the lives of their families, through the recovery of a cooperative that produces olive preserves and distills aromatic plants, and the widespread use of laying hen farming. As many as 354 women from six villages will benefit from this initiative.

A second project that will be supported is aimed at relaunching and developing the professional work of 13 master bricklayers, who will thus be able to engage in self-reconstruction in their own village, and carry out work in all the surrounding villages ; also involving other workers in the construction works. In total, at least 24 families will be the first beneficiaries.

A time of crisis, such as that caused by the earthquake, can also transform into an opportunity for change; the actions of the projects that - thanks to the substantial resources entrusted to us - we support, want to capture them: concretely promoting the integral development of people and supportive relationships.


Sermig Re.Te Association. for Development
IBAN: IT29 P030 6909 6061 0000 0001 481

Mauro Palombo
NP May 2024