'The need is urgent': Local organizations assisting Morocco from afar
Residents in Morocco are reeling from a destructive earthquake that has caused over 2,000 deaths.
As international aid workers are helping out on the ground, locals in southwestern Ontario are trying their best to provide relief from afar.
“The needs are beyond the material… people just need a hand to hold or a shoulder to cry on,” said Miranda Gallo, Communications and Government Relations Manager, Islamic Relief Canada.
“They’re really heartbroken,” she said on Monday.
Gallo says their organization has worked quickly to send aid workers to Morocco to provide emergency assistance, as some villages have been reduced to rubble, leaving people in desperate need of food, water, shelter, and electricity.
“Since this is already happening, those who are still alive under the rubble are on a really tight timeline. There’s still time to get people out with proper assistance but it’s becoming grim,” she explained.
A region south of the city of Marrakech was hardest hit by the magnitude-6.8 tremor on Friday night with several aftershocks. The epicentre was high in the Atlas Mountains, about 70 kilometres south of Marrakech in Al Haouz province.
Once news broke of the devastating earthquake, members of the London Muslim Mosque quickly created a fundraiser on its website with a goal of reaching $100,000.
“Our day of service, Friday, we are going to designate the collection on that day for Morocco relief and it’s the least that we can do,” said Mohamed Al-Jammali, Imam, London Muslim Mosque.
Community organizers in London are partnering with Islamic Relief Canada in order to provide collected monetary donations to Moroccans overseas, as financial donations are the fastest way to provide basic needs, Gallo said.
Dr. Munir El-Kassem, Imam of Islamic Centre of southwestern Ontario said, “Whenever we hear about a place of disaster anywhere in the world it is our responsibility to feel the pain, and to respond.”
The Arab Students’ Association at Western University is also partnering with Islamic Relief Canada to collect funds on-campus at their information booth or donate online.
“Me and the executive team talked about setting up a fundraiser as soon as possible,” said Hamzah Algodi, President of the Arabs Students’ Association.
“We started with an online link where people can donate, then started spreading the message through our social media,” he said.
“There’s no goal in mind but we are trying to raise as much money as possible,” added Leen Barzak, the association’s Charity VP. “We felt that it’s very important that we step in and help this cause because it’s very near and dear to our hearts.”
Donations can be made to Islamic Relief Canada through its website.
Elsewhere this year, a magnitude 7.8 temblor that shook Syria and Turkey killed more than 21,600 people.
Of the 2,122 deaths reported as of Sunday evening, 1,351 were in Al Haouz, a region with a population of around 570,000, according to Morocco's 2014 census.
The earthquake shook most of Morocco and caused injury and death in other provinces, including Marrakech, Taroudant and Chichaoua.
— With files from The Associated Press’ Sam Metz, Jesse Bedayn in Denver, Angela Charlton in Paris, and Will Weissert in Washington
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Explosion at train station leads to discovery of stolen car on Montreal's South Shore: police
Police are investigating after a BMW exploded in the St-Lambert Exo train station parking lot on Montreal's South Shore.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
A candidate for Germany's key party was beaten up while campaigning for European elections
A candidate for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's center-left party in next month's election for the European Parliament was beaten up and seriously injured while campaigning in an eastern city, the party said Saturday.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.