First trip to the 2023 earthquake region.

Joey Easley

As soon as the 6.8 earthquake hit in the Atlas mountains in September of 2023, our hearts were touched for the Moroccan people. My brother Daniel was able to get on a flight and be there within a week to help with some of the initial relief work, but due to responsibilities I wasn't able to get over there for another two months. In November, Dani and I were able to go to Morocco - and we were joined by Jim and Karen Scott. We spent a week in the Al Hoceima area (the very north of Morocco) visiting friends that we hadn't seen in years and then Dani and Karen had to get home. I made the 12 hour drive down to the earthquake area with Jim and our Moroccan friend Big Mo and we spent another week down there.

The devastation was overwhelming. Whole villages were flattened. We heard story after story of pain and loss. A man told us a particularly heartbreaking story. They were asleep mere feet from each other and got separated by debris as the room collapsed around them. His son was trapped and the man wasn't able to get to him - even as he could hear his cries for help. It's easy to be numb to statistics on death and suffering, but not so easy to sit next to a man sobbing as he tells you of losing his son that he loved.

There was a large amount of initial relief that reached the region. We heard reports of the generosity of Moroccans as plenty of food and clothing inundated the area. The fear was of the cold. With winter approaching and some of the villages sitting over 6000 feet in elevation, the people were in need of shelter. Everyone had received tents, but they made for difficult living conditions for large families. The tents were no match for high winds and heavy downpours. We decided to see what we could do to join efforts to build insulated shelters.

After a phone call to my brother Daniel, the decision was made that he would come over with his family for at least a few months to help with the shelter building.