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Decatur woman uses Atlanta connections to help earthquake victims in Morocco

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Published  October 5, 2023 10:54pm EDT
Decatur
FOX 5 Atlanta

Decatur woman helps earthquake victims in Morocco

A Decatur woman who splits her time between Atlanta and Morocco says she’s using her contacts in Atlanta to get aid directly to people who’ve been hit the hardest by the recent earthquake there.

DECATUR, Ga. - A Decatur woman who splits her time between Atlanta and Morocco says she’s using her contacts in Atlanta to get aid directly to people who’ve been the hardest by the recent earthquake in Morocco.

"To see the amount of devastation and destruction was really bad…some didn’t have a place to sleep or stay at all. They lost everything," said Houda Abadi. 

She’s the founder of Transformative Peace, a mission-based consultancy that works on inclusive peace processes in Morocco.

She splits her time between her home in Decatur and Casablanca.

"So I’ve always referred to having like two homes across the Atlantic. I feel like a sense of belonging to two places," she said.

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  (Courtesy of Houda Abadi)

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Abadi was in the country when the massive 6.8 magnitude earthquake rocked the land.

When the earthquake struck, she felt compelled to help and immediately started gathering supplies to take to remote villages in the Atlas Mountains that were hit hardest.  

"The ground were still shaking, actually, when we went there and so it was food, clothes, toys for children that lost everything, blankets and some mattresses,"  

But today almost a month struck, Abadi says people there still need a lot of help.

"The level of destruction is absolutely horrific. Most of the homes are unsafe to go into those homes, completely unsafe," Abadi said.  

Her network in Atlanta wanted to give that help, so they asked her to create a GoFundMe page, so they would know exactly where their donations were going.

"Being 100% sure that it goes directly to the victims," she said.

Abadi says she’s in direct contact with village leaders to get them the supplies they actually need.

"What they need the most is shelter or where to sleep. And so they do not want food. They feel like they have enough food," Abadi said.

With the money she’s raised from her Atlanta friends and contacts, she’s bought tents, tarps, mattresses and rugs.

Which she’s already loaded into trucks, preparing to distribute them this weekend.  

"We’re planning on leaving this Friday, so October 6th," Abadi said. 

And if you want to continue to support the people there still suffering from this earthquake Abadi says these are groups that providing direct aid to those in need.