Medi1Radio talks about LIFE

Medi1, the radio station of the Greater Maghreb and the Mediterranean, interviewed LIFE's president, Tarek el Kahodi, and our project officer Imad Bentayeb on 6 September 2024.

They talked about LIFE's 4 areas of work and its 15th anniversary this year!

Here's a quick summary!

From humble beginnings in an office in Seine-Saint-Denis, LIFE has grown into an international humanitarian organisation working in 25 countries, including Morocco.

We work in four vital areas: food aid, water, education and the environment.

What sets LIFE apart is that we don't settle for helping people in need on a temporary basis. Taking an integrated approach, we offer complete, lasting solutions. For example, when we build drinking-water wells in villages, children and women no longer have to walk kilometres to fetch water. Children can go back to school, and women have time to develop income-generating activities.

Our food aid campaign "1 euro = 1 meal" feeds thousands of people every year, especially during Ramadan. But we don't stop there. Alongside it, we set up school canteens, for example in Togo, Benin and Tangier. Eating at school really matters, for 3 reasons: it improves pupils' results, helps reduce absenteeism and brings new children into school.

In the same way, protecting and restoring the environment helps bring back a stable ecosystem. When the tsunami struck Indonesia and Thailand, thousands of lives could have been saved had deforestation not been so rampant. Mangroves form a barrier against extreme weather and also generate income (aquaculture, honey and more). LIFE works in Indonesia through the SAPOUSSE projects to restore these vital ecosystems.

LIFE has also been active in Palestine, in Gaza, for a decade, delivering life-saving aid there despite difficult conditions, working with local partners.

In Morocco, after the earthquake on the night of 7 to 8 September 2023, we responded the very next day, providing emergency relief to the people affected. But we soon realised that post-emergency support was needed too. It was the start of the school year, and the children, shaken by what they had just been through, needed to get back to school. So we ran a project with the Ministry of National Education in the municipality of Anougal, where we built 17 schools, first in wood and then prefabricated. We held celebrations and opening ceremonies there to help bring smiles back to the pupils' faces. We also provided 150 mobile homes for families affected by the disaster.

In all its projects, LIFE works closely with local associations, becoming part of communities rather than imposing itself on them.

On 19 October, a symbolic post-earthquake fundraising evening will take place, with the backing of a very special patron, GIMS. It will pay tribute to those affected by the disaster and bring together as many Lifechangers as possible to carry our humanitarian work forward.