Jeffrey Otten from Gemert was moved last month by the images of the earthquake disaster in Morocco. The rally driver then took action and decided to collect relief supplies. On Friday, Otten will practice in Morocco with his buggy for the Dakar Rally and will take everything with him. “It is so overwhelming that other teams are also filling their cars.”
“I was enormously affected by the misery of the earthquake in Morocco,” says Jeffrey Otten. “I had to do something about that. Especially because of the sadness that people of Moroccan descent have in my company with family in the disaster area. Then it comes even closer.”
“You are actually powerless, but I still made a call on Facebook to collect relief supplies. I also mentioned that I will deliver them myself to Morocco. I have to go there anyway, because I will be participating in the event from Saturday Fenek Rally.”
“Boxes full of shoes, but also tents and children’s clothing, for example.”
“What happened next was overwhelming,” continues the driver and entrepreneur from Gemert. “In a short time, five large pallets, about two meters high, were packed with all kinds of stuff. Boxes full of shoes, but also tents and a lot of children’s clothing, for example. At one point the men from our warehouse asked if it wasn’t enough by now. We then crammed everything we could into the racing car and the service truck as best we could.”
But the proceeds were so great that this was not entirely successful and Otten had to call in auxiliary troops. “Fortunately, colleagues who are also going to the rally also take a few things with them. And anything that we cannot take with us, we give to an imam from the neighborhood. He probably knows people who are also going that way.”
“We are not allowed to go further than the border with the aid.”
With his action, Otten notices that offering help is not always easy. “You can’t just cross the border with all that stuff,” he explains. “But luckily the organization of the Fenek Rally helps me. I was able to arrange that in advance. When we get off the boat in Morocco, we transfer the things to a truck that they have arranged and that delivers them. The necessary stamps from customs are already over.”
Otten would like to hand over the items himself in Morocco, but that appears not to be possible. “The disaster area is 1,800 kilometers from the place where we are holding the rally and we are not allowed to go further than the border with the relief supplies. Not that I really want to see the disaster area, but at least I know that the supplies will end up properly.” .So unfortunately, we can’t do more than this.”
