Engagement for Moroccan girls – Education For All
Do you remember? Recently we introduced you to some social engagement projects of Green Pearls partners. Today we’ll take a short side trip to a social project in Morocco! There you can find „Education For All (EFA)“ which was co-founded by our Green Pearls® partner Kasbah du Toubkal. „Educate a boy and you educate the man; educate a girl and you educate a family, a community, a nation“, is the idea behind the project that supports education for disadvantaged girls.
Especially in the rural areas of the Atlas Mountains in Morocco many girls don’t have access to secondary schools. There are different underlying reasons, but often the distance to school is just too far and the costs for a boarding house too expensive for the family. This is where „Education For All“ jumps in: the project offers free boarding houses for girls and with this the possibility for education and a sustainable improvement of the living standards in rural areas.
A story of success
Ten years ago, the idea of building a boarding house in Asni in the foothills of the High Atlas for thirty-six girls has taken on a life of its own, with nowadays five houses and 186 young ladies with access to an education and the outside world that would have been beyond their imagination a few years ago. The work of the organisation has changed the way local people view girls and their education. Villages are asking for more EFA houses to be built. “I never thought that EFA would be so successful,” says Latifa Aliza, the first house mother and now head of the house mothers. “Especially as I’m from the same area and I know how the parents were reluctant to let the girls continue their studies. It was wonderful when we had the results from six different levels, from the first year of college to the Baccalaureate in February 2013. I remember that I said to myself that nothing is impossible, the girls reached the last year of secondary school and they had good results.”
Make the difference – as a volunteer!
„Education For All“ is financed by the guests of Kasbah du Toubkal as well as by donations. Only recently a new possibility to actively engage in the project has been launched: as a volunteer you can get involved for at least three months and help the girls with school work and additional french courses. And the great side effect: you get to know the Morrocan culture, the country and the people so much better! Apply here and become a part of it info@efamorocco.org !
