Following last weekend’s earthquake that destroyed homes, villages and displaced so many families in southern Morocco, Aquabox have been working with its delivery partners to gain a better understanding of the situation and determine how best to respond.
The epicentre of the earthquake was in the High Atlas Mountains South West of Marrakesh. The terrain is very challenging with only a rudimentary road network. Many of these roads have been damaged and are currently impassable so the need to clear these roads and find viable routes into the key disaster zones is a critical activity
One of our partners has sent a team to Morocco to undertake a feasibility exercise in order to understand how best to set up a secure supply route to the villages that have been most affected by the earthquake as well as understanding the customs and logistics requirements of the Moroccan Government.
Aquabox partners have also submitted disaster response proposals to the Moroccan Government which have included the provision of Aquabox filters and humanitarian aid and we expect to have a response from the Moroccan embassy in the near future.
We are also in discussions with the Tyne and Wear based charity ,International Emergency Response Team UK (IERTUK). IERTUK have links with an NGO based in Southern Morocco who are currently supporting families and communities in the impacted region and they hope to receive the green light to dispatch a major aid consignment, including Aquaboxes, to the area in the near future
In the meantime, our packing and filter assembly teams are busy preparing consignments of filters and humanitarian aid to support the disaster response teams. Once the secure supply routes have been set up the Aquafilters will provide much-needed safe drinking water to families and communities as well as preventing the spread of deadly waterborne diseases in the aftermath of this devastating earthquake
Thank you for your support
Roger Cassidy
Aquabox Chair of Trustee