Essential Food Relief Delivered to 1,125 individuals in Al-Haouz, Morocco by Life for Relief and Development USA (LIFE)

Our existence in this world is paradoxical – we witness both breathtaking beauty, order and balance alongside unbearable suffering, injustice and inequality. The inescapable nature of pain and how it must coexist with joy and beauty is perfectly captured in a famous Moroccan proverb: “Every rose has a thorn as its friend”.

The wisdom in this saying stems from a human realization that to truly appreciate and welcome the beauty and hope in this life, one must already accept that some form of suffering or hardship must exist alongside it.

For residents of Al-Haouz, living in the magnificent High Atlas Mountains of Western Morocco, 1233 meters above sea level, hardship has been no stranger to them. In this remote and rural province, families had to depend on agricultural productivity to sustain a livelihood. On average, Al-Haouz endures a significantly higher multidimensional poverty rate than the national average.

Already combating the daily struggles of food insecurity, the earthquake that struck the High Atlas Mountains on September 08, 2023, left Al-Haouz’s community utterly devastated. With a magnitude of 7 on the Richter scale, the earthquake claimed the lives of at least 2,960 people, injuring 5,674 and damaging or destroying over 40,000 houses.

Left to rebuild in the wake of destruction, the community was shattered as thousands of families remain homeless with no means of providing a living for themselves. As a result, food insecurity in Al-Haouz has deepened significantly. The quake amplified the persistent challenges of rural poverty and agricultural instability that residents already faced.

Still living in makeshift shelters of plastic tarps and salvaged materials, families in Al-Haouz struggle as they prepare for Ramadan. A time usually marked by warmth, sharing, and togetherness, the persistent nature of their suffering has clouded one Ramadan already.

To alleviate this hardship, Life for Relief and Development USA (LIFE) distributed 225 Ramadan food baskets between March 05 and March 06, 2025, to 225 families in Al-Haouz, Morocco. Directly reaching a total of 1,125 individuals, the project prioritized and effectively reached marginalized populations, including the elderly, persons with disabilities, female-headed households, families living below the poverty line, and children under the age of five.

Each food basket included essential staple items that were nutritious and sufficient to sustain a family of five for a month. To alleviate food insecurity prior to Ramadan, each family received rice, pasta, beans, peas, oil, flour, couscous, sugar, tea, salt, tomato paste, and biscuits. In total, the food baskets delivered provided direct relief to approximately 338 women, 225 men, 295 girls and 267 boys.

The project addressed the urgent humanitarian needs faced by vulnerable families in Morocco’s Al-Haouz. Held back by economic difficulties, high unemployment rates, and limited access to essential food items, the community’s ability to adequately prepare for and observe Ramadan was significantly impacted. Recognizing this critical need, LIFE’s project provided timely and targeted food assistance, enabling vulnerable families to observe the holy month with dignity.

Amid the suffering brought about by the earthquake, accustomed to a life of thorns and hardship, your donations and LIFE’s Ramadan Food Basket project reminded Al-Haouz’s residents of the beauty that can exist in this world. In their makeshift shelters, they were gifted a Ramadan of sustenance, sharing and togetherness.

Thank you for being the rose that accompanies the thorns.