The powerful 6.8 magnitude earthquake tore buildings apart and killed over 3,000 people,
In the bustling town of Asni, the rooftops were once full of activity. Especially in the boarding houses of a girls’ educationNow the rooftops are silent. If they are even there at all., killing over 3,000 people, tearing buildings apart and exposing inhabitants to the cold nighttime air of the High Atlas mountains.
In the charity’s early days, a respected local elder and member of the committee went from door to door to convince mothers and fathers that their daughter would be well cared for by the house mothers. The sheer warmth and generosity of everyone I met – and the taste of countless mint teas – has stayed with me since. As have the hopes and dreams of the girls I encountered; future doctors, nurses, teachers, business owners, tourism guides.And while removed from the situation, the wait for news of the girls was still painful. Waking up to the news of an earthquake in Morocco made my stomach drop, finding out Asni was one of the worst hit places broke my heart.
Omar says one slept outside of a boarding house for two nights to ensure no one would enter via the now gaping holes in the walls. Such is the loyalty the organisation elicits; ‘but of course, we said for her safety, she just shouldn’t stay there.’Cruelly, the six houses that EFA run are in the locations surrounding the epicentre of the earthquake. The damage is extensive. It’s currently thought that four of the six houses will need to be demolished and rebuilt in their entirety.
But despite being in those remote villages, surrounded by the ruins of their homes and having lost family members, every effort is being made to get them back to school. EFA’shas already amassed just over £200,000, but this is just a fraction of what the charity needs to achieve both short and long term goals.
For Omar, a worry bigger than that of temporary accommodation is the fear that the progress made in the ‘sustainable solution’ of education will slide. She acknowledges that ‘it’s always been harder, but this is going to escalate the difficulties and, potentially, young people might not even prioritise education. Now they’ve got so much to do in their communities. Helping their families. Grieving.
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