Established in 2008

Key CARE Morocco objectives:

• Education
• Economic empowerment of women and young people, particularly the most vulnerable, by supporting them to improve their income
• Civic participation of the most disadvantaged, particularly women and girls, in order to empower them to defend their own rights

• Right now, CARE Morocco needs quick financial support to deliver the first necessary humanitarian kits of water and food, hygiene kits and shelter. These are needed urgently. 
• Many are trapped in rubble and in these areas, rescuers are at work, searching for survivors among the devastation of collapsed houses, while residents are already digging graves on a hill to bury the victims.
• It is essential to address not only immediate needs, but also secondary impacts such as health: it will be necessary to take into account the damage caused to water supply systems that often causes outbreaks of waterborne diseases after this type of disaster. It will be necessary to ensure a restart of health systems to avoid secondary disasters.
• Reconstruction is likely to take months.

CARE already has a presence in the earthquake-affected areas of Morocco, and we are ready to support the Moroccan authorities as they lead emergency operations, by shifting our existing programs to respond to urgent and growing needs. Our first priority will be to provide hot meals, safe water supply, emergency shelter and medical support to families that have been impacted by the earthquake. 

As the situation on the ground evolves, CARE will adapt our response strategy to ensure that we can provide timely, culturally appropriate and gender-sensitive assistance to families in need. Earthquake-affected families have suffered not only a physical toll, but also a mental one. People near the epicentre of the earthquake experienced severe trauma, and they will require psychosocial support.

CARE has been working in Morocco since 2008, established under Moroccan law as an explicitly apolitical, independent and non-denominational organisation. In Morocco, CARE’s mission is to support individuals and families from deprived communities, promoting equal access to economic opportunities. Our programming focuses on three main areas: education, economic empowerment and governance. CARE works extensively in Al Haouz, one of the cities that was most impacted by Friday’s earthquake. 

In the aftermath of emergencies like this, CARE’s focus is on immediate lifesaving supplies followed by the necessary support to help people build long-term solutions. With our partners around the world, we are:

• saving lives now with immediate shelter and food supplies, cash vouchers, access to job opportunities, and prevention of life-threatening malnutrition;
• growing resilience and livelihoods to help people recovery from this crises and be better prepared for future emergencies; and

changing systems by working with private sector partners and donors and advocating for governments to prevent repeat crises.

It’s natural to want to donate things like clothes, blankets, toys for kids or other helpful things that you may have. And whilst that’s extremely kind and thoughtful, there are a number of reasons why CARE Australia is unable to accept donations of physical goods or items. Transportation and shipment of goods is a costly exercise, takes time, and it is preferred to support the affected local economy.

The best way to help is through financial contributions, which can be used immediately to purchase critically-needed items locally – this helps people faster and also supports local businesses and suppliers.