On September 8th, a magnitude 6.8 earthquake hit Morocco with devastating effects. Meanwhile, on September 10th, Mediterranean Storm Daniel brought heavy rainfall and flooding to eastern Libya, causing large-scale destruction as a result of two dams collapsing south of the city of Derna.
These events will have profound and far-reaching impacts on lives and livelihoods in months and years to come. Nearly 300,000 people have been affected by the earthquake in Morocco, and over 34,000 people have been displaced in Libya. In all areas with intersecting political, economic, humanitarian, climate, and natural disasters, women and girls are at an exponentially increased risk of gender-based violence.
VOICE is calling on our supporters to help us galvanize roughly $100,000 in life-saving funds for our Solidarity Fund - our rapid response, unrestricted small grants program - so we can get vital, emergency funding into the hands of women- and girl-led organizations (WGLOs) on the ground in these communities. On average, Solidarity Fund recipients receive between $5,000 - $10,000 to provide lifesaving services in their communities.
Our goal is to send at least five crisis grants to WGLOs in both Morocco and Libya by the end of the week, so act now! We can’t make this happen without your support. Please donate as you are able.
Checks can be written to VOICE and mailed to:
The Giving Back Fund
c/o VOICE
500 Commercial Street/Suite 4R
Boston, MA 02109