Former Vancouver resident living in Morocco looks to help earthquake victims

A former Vancouver resident is organizing a team of volunteers to help earthquake-stricken villages around the city of Taroudant in Morocco.

Christine Wong has lived in Agadir, a city on Morocco’s southern Atlantic coast, since 2019. Wong and other volunteers are planning to bring critical supplies like food, water, and clothing into the small villages in the Atlas Mountains that were devastated by the quake Friday.

Related links:

• ‘We could hear screaming and crying:’ Canadians in Morocco describe earthquake

• Minister urges Canadians in Morocco to contact Global Affairs after devastating quake

Wong says the situation in Taroudant is dire.

“From what I’ve heard, it’s all rubble, and no one has been able to go up there for the last two days,” she said. “I think it’s going to be a really bad situation to go to, but they need our help.”

Wong says it’s a tense situation on the ground but she is lucky to have avoided the worst of the damage of the quake, which registered at a 6.4 magnitude in her area. She says as a foreigner living in Morocco, she feels privileged to live in the country and really wants to help give back to her new home.

Meanwhile in Vancouver, the Morocco House Association is organizing a rally at the Vancouver Art Gallery on Sunday at 6 p.m. to gather donations for the earthquake victims.

With files from Angela Bower