Morocco Animal Aid

By being part of Morocco Animal Aid you will learn first hand both the pleasures & hardships of the animals within our care. With us you will learn how to live the simple life, in what is a tough & often unforgiving environment.

You will wake up everyday to 450 animals, that are looking to you for love, patience & understanding.
The environment is tough. You may be exposed to situations, behaviours or cultural nuances that you may not agree with or understand. This can be the most difficult part of your journey with us.

By working with us you are contributing to help create a shift towards a safer, healthier, happier future for the animals of Morocco. We are a family here. But we work hard. Really hard. The work is smelly, noisy, dirty & physical. But the reward will always outweigh the sacrifice. We are here for them.

Welcome to Morocco Animal Aid. We are an animal rescue & rehabilitation shelter located in Assersif. A rural, no frills, berber village located just outside the bustling village of Aourir, otherwise known as Banana Village. By working with us you will learn 1st hand the pleasures & hardships of the animals in our care. You will be contributing to help create a shift towards a safer, healthier, happier future for the animals of Morocco. We are a family here. But we work hard. Really hard. The work is smelly, noisy, dirty & physical. But the reward will always outweigh the sacrifice. We are here for them. You are making a difference. Our shelter is run entirely by volunteers. Our volunteers come from all over the globe & are from all walks of life. Without our volunteers, our shelter does not run. Our volunteer schedule is never the same. Some weeks we are overflowing with volunteers. Other weeks we really struggle. Whichever the scenario, we need to ensure that we are adequately covered to be able to meet the needs of the animals at the shelter. Daily tasks at the shelter include: * Cleaning: Poop scoop, rubbish collection, general sanitation of the shelter * Caring : offer food and fresh water, cuddles * Walking/Hiking: The dogs are walked for minimum 60 mins at a time on a rotating roster. * Animal Training: Training walks, to aid socialisation or to assist rehabilitation. * Staff Training: New volunteer inductions & patient care training. * Medical Treatment: Administering specialised treatments to animals when required. * Projects: Other initiatives, such as building, administration etc. You MUST be confident with dogs. The dogs specifically need strong leaders. The dogs in our care may be different to the dogs you are used to back home. You may experience behaviours or characteristics in our dogs that you may not have experienced before. If you havent had animals as pets before or are slightly afraid of any type of animal then this position isn't for you. POO*️️️️️️️️️️️️*️️️️️️️️️️️️*️️️️️️️️️️️️ We clean up poo, dog poo, cat poo. Poo all day, every day. There is always poo. Just one job, for 40mins max will be to pick up poo. If youre sensitive about poo, dont apply. This is by far the worst part of the just. But now you know. POO. Poo. Poo. *️️️️️️️️️️*️️️️️️️️️️* Morocco is NOT a rabies controlled country. Please check with your GP/Doctor about any vaccinations/boosters needed to travel here. *️️️️️️️️*️️️️️️️️*️️️️️️️️ We have a number of dogs with leishmaniasis which is a contagious disease for both animals and humans. The dogs are under treatment to kill parasite and wear protective collars to deter the sand fly that transfers the disease. Please take some time to read up on leishmaniasis so you are aware of the risks.


Reviews

4.5
(59 reviews)59

Staff & Host

4.5

Hours & Tasks

4.0

Hostel

4.5

Learning & Fun

4.5

Colombia

3

The shelter has too many improvement opportunities. The dogs come in poor condition from the streets, and the people give their best to treat them and provide them with a better life. However, this is something difficult to achieve due to the resources management.

The staff house is a house like any house in the world. If you go, don't wait for someone to clean after you. The manager is not there. There are rules, and you have to follow them by yourself, even if other people don't.

This experience broke me for many reasons. But every experience is different. I hope you have a better one.

about 2 months ago

Andorra

4

Fue una experiencia conmovedora, hay muchos animales que necesitan ayuda y ellos son muy entregados a esta labor de ayudar. Realmente son muy dedicados, por favor siempre son bienvenidos los voluntarios…en cuanto a la casa donde llagan los voluntarios, tiene lo necesario para vivir, no hay lujos y todo está muy desgastado! Creo que así vaya una persona a hacer aseo a la casa una vez al día, las personas que viven allí se deben encargar de mantenerla limpia! Ya que hay animales y hacen sus necesidades allí adentro durante todo el día. en cuanto a la alimentación, cada uno debe hacer su comida

3 months ago

Spain

3

Well, this volunteering was not for me. I knew they were going through hard times, but it end charging too many responsibility on you. The more experienced volunteers at the shelter (called Team Leadres) that are supposed to teach you don’t take the time to. I learnt the most from another volunteer that had arrived a week before me, to who I am very grateful. The house were you stay is really dirty, some dogs inside pooing and peeing, rotten food on the fridge… Don’t blame anybody, but it is not a comfortable living conditions for sure. Dogs really need your help, but I advice is rough work!!

3 months ago


Lina replied

Hello Laura, it's truly not for everyone as you said. Team leaders are not experienced volunteers but workers, choosen and paid for this position. For the staff house there is a schedule for all the volunteers living in for the cleaning of the common parts, unfortunately only few respect it. Same thing for the dogs, there is a schedule for the Dogs needs, they to be teached to pee and poo outside during the daily hike. We made the rules, but volunteers are the ones who makes them exists.

Canada

2

MAA is in poor shape. The owners are away from Morocco. There are few trusted staff on site. The shelter lacks proper management. Standard practices outlined in the FAQ doc are not in place, like new crew shadowing an experienced team member, or being paired up with an animal buddy. The team is small, only the necessities are done. Scooping poop and feeding in the AM. Odd jobs in the PM. Sometimes walks in the PM. Resources are spread thin. Food is mixed with moldy bread. Groups of 7-9 dogs are kept in 8'x10' pens. MAA could really use the help, but be prepared if you plan to volunteer here.

5 months ago


Lina replied

it's true that we are in a big storm, so volunteers are one of the key for animals to go better, thanks for your time and commitment.

Germany

3

U need to have fire in ur heart for the work u need to do at the shelter. I have to say, I saw more bad stuff then good stuff and thats because theres a lag of money. On top no one is really willing to put the dogs that are perfectly fine on the website for adoption.

The house was really just doable because of the people there.
I would still come back (maybe).

5 months ago


Lina replied

Hello Emilie!

I hope you are doing well and happy to know that you still wants to come back and your welcome.

but please be fair, you can't say that "no one is willing to put dogs .. for adoption" that's false and a heavy accusation, we need someone who wants to take the adoption coordination position but we have not found one so moment, if you want to apply for the job then welcome. Adoption processus is much more than only putting a photo on a website, it means a lot of logistic behind


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