Recently in Upper School Assembly, Flora Munro, an alumnae of St George’s class of 2008, spoke about her recent experiences in Morrocco.

On the 8th September, she’d gone to Marrakesh as part of a work trip. On her first night, an earthquake devastated the city and she feared for hers and her colleague’s safety as the walls around her began to ruffle like paper.

Luckily, she and her colleagues were unharmed, and their hotel remained intact. The following day, they met with a fellow member of their business network, Mike McHugo. As a local entrepreneur and founder of Education for All Morrocco, he presented an opportunity for Flora and her colleagues to help the local community.

Education for All Morrocco (EFA) is a charity that provides boarding homes for girls in poor and rural communities in the Atlas Mountains who would otherwise have to discontinue their secondary education as the provision for this is limited in their villages and communities. It is a lifeline for girls who would normally be early to marry and become mothers.

As the group witnessed locals arriving in droves to check in to the hotel, having lost their homes the night before, they felt compelled to go with Mike to offer what aid they could in the town of Asni where the six boarding homes that the charity manages are located.

Asni is also located 20km from the epicentre of the earthquake and had endured a lot of destruction. Once there, they discovered that all the boarding homes had been damaged, two of them reduced to rubble. Many of the girls had become orphaned overnight and one girl tragically was lost.

The homes provided a safe place to live and study for 250 girls and now that number is zero!

The charity is currently in phase 2 which is to focus on temporary solutions such as renting accommodation and will rely on charitable donations to rebuild.

Speaking to us now as ambassador for EFA, Flora relayed the charity’s desperate need to rebuild their boarding homes and care for the girls that had previously been living and studying in them. The cost to rebuild will be significant as it is a small charity. Any donation will go a long way to helping the girls who benefited from EFA’s work.

She left us with this final thought urging us to unite behind this cause: “Being a girl/woman is different for everyone, but there's one thing that unites us all: girl power! There is nothing like being a girl and being proud.”

Viisit this website to donate: Earthquake Crisis Appeal - GlobalGiving