American non secular organizations are dashing support to victims of the magnitude 6.8 earthquake that struck late Friday night time about 45 miles southwest of Marrakech, Morocco.
Moroccan state tv says 2,862 have died and a pair of,562 have been reported injured. Because most of the most affected areas are within the High Atlas Mountain area, nevertheless, it could be days earlier than a closing tally is reached.
Jason Cox, vp of worldwide ministry for Atlanta-based Send Relief was in Athens on the time the earthquake struck.
Speaking from Marrakech, he stated an preliminary journey Monday into mountain villages “was a discovery trip, just to begin to do an on-the-ground assessment” of what was wanted.
“We have a worldwide network of partners that allows us to respond pretty quickly to a number of crises like this around the world,” he stated. “We were able to do it in Ukraine last year, we were able to do it in the Turkey/Syria earthquake earlier this year, and the same here in Morocco. Because of those local partners, we’re able to respond really, really quickly.”
Mr. Cox stated Send Relief — a three way partnership of the Southern Baptist Convention’s International and North American mission boards — will initially work to “meet the immediate needs” of meals and water, but additionally to judge longer-term necessities.
“One thing people don’t realize is that it gets really cold at night in the mountains,” he stated. “And so even now in late summer, people are wanting blankets. Electricity is a big issue because these villages have been destroyed and they shut off electricity altogether.”
Mr. Cox stated the fact on the bottom is harsher than information pictures may recommend.
“You can see pictures but until you’re there and you see these concrete-and-rebar reinforced buildings just flattened, or five-story buildings flatten on top of themselves, this is not something people can just recover from quickly. They need housing and winter’s coming and it gets freezing in these places.”
Islamic Relief USA additionally has employees on-site in Morocco, assessing wants and “identifying local humanitarian organizations to work with to deliver vital aid. Food, shelter, and health care are expected to be the most urgent needs.”
The U.S.-based nonprofit is accepting donations on its web site.
The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, or JDC, has been in Morocco since 1947, Michael Geller, senior director of worldwide communications, stated in a phone interview Monday. JDC representatives in Casablanca, a Moroccan metropolis unaffected by the temblor, went to Marrakech to survey the injury and put together for long-term efforts.
Mr. Geller stated that of the 120 Jews identified to be residing in Marrakech, solely two households misplaced their properties. He stated a long time of JDC reduction efforts have made the charity’s staff a well-known presence in within the majority Muslim nation.
With the earthquake approaching the eve of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, and the 10-day interval of introspection culminating in Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, Mr. Geller stated the season’s custom of charitable giving makes this an opportune time for Jews within the United States to donate to the JDC’s reduction efforts.
Mr. Cox stated that whereas Christian religion motivates the efforts of Send Relief, offering assist in Morocco is a charitable endeavor and never a pretext for proselytizing.
“This is not an evangelistic effort,” he stated. “But we believe that if we follow the example of Jesus, and have compassion, true compassion on other people in their time of need, that will have a positive impact on them. So it is not an evangelistic effort, but we’re very open about who we are. And we believe that everything that we’re doing reflects only reflects Christ in us.”
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