Gift of the Givers ready to dispatch help to Morocco

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Aid organisation Gift of the Givers says its emergency teams are on standby to go to Morocco to provide assistance following Friday’s deadly 6.8 magnitude earthquake that killed more than 2 000 people.

The quake that hit the remote areas in the Atlas Mountains, has created a challenge for rescue teams due to damaged roads that have rendered the area inaccessible.

Gift of the Givers founder Dr Imtiaz Sooliman says his team is waiting on a request from Morocco’s government.

“We’re still waiting for the Moroccan government to make a request for international assistance. They’re doing it on a country-by-country basis right now. We know that Spain has been asked to send search and rescue personnel, the first 56 people are going from Spain to Morocco. Other countries have offered but they haven’t got confirmation meaning a definite yes, for them to go through. We in the meantime are preparing, we have 25- personnel ready in search and rescue, and five-dogs all ready to move in. We’ve got a medical team on standby. We’re busy with airlines looking at the connections to see what’s possible. We’re also busy with the South African Embassy in Morocco and speaking to the Moroccan government.”