Sponsor A Girl's Education in Rural Morocco

We are excited to write this report knowing the borders have opened up again in Morocco!

Thanks to your support with this campaign, we have been able to ensure girls are sponsored though their education, food is bought, bills are paid and girls can connect to wider learning through the internet. You have donated generously to keep EFA strong in tough times, and the result is that girls are educated, empowered and thriving in this remote area of the High Atlas Mountains.

We managed to make a short documentary for International Day of the Girl last October (link at the end of this report) and also celebrated the fact that one of our former students, Kabira, completed her Master's Degree and is planning on doing her PhD in 2023! (See her photo below with her Mother.)

The open borders signify a new chapter. We hope that not only that there will be less school disruptions, but that EFA can focus again on welcoming Volunteers to the boarding houses again. We have just welcomed 3 volunteers from UK, Switzerland and Spain and there are more to come.

Volunteers are an important part of boarding house life as they bring fresh perspectives and additional support and activities into the girls lives. From art activities to meditation and yoga, the girls can expand their life skills and creativity.

Volunteers also support the House Mothers who have the monumental task of taking care of 30+ girls each day with daily homework and personal challenges. The volunteers bring much needed support to the House Mothers who also enjoy learning new ways of doing things so they too can grow their own skills. 

The pandemic has been challenging for us all, but thanks to your generous support we were able to keep our houses open for most of the time and ensure teenage girls could continue accessing education.

We very much hope that 2022 is an easier year for us all, and that girls continue to access education through the EFA boarding houses, so that their communities, country and indeed our whole world can flourish and work together to find solutions for our shared future.

Thank you for being part of this important mission!

Links:

• Instagram Interview with Master's student, Kabira
• Girl Day Documentary

A New Dawn A New Day - Coming out of Covid! 

We have many things to celebrate together with you from the last few months!

Over the Summer we did a renovation of one of our oldest houses which was in need of repairs, new beds and computers. This house will be for girls who are 12-16 years old.

In October we opened for the new school year. This year we are at full capacity and welcomed 70 new girls to the EFA Boarding houses! They embark on a journey of first times- first time in secondary school, first time using a computer, first time having a hot shower! These girls would not be in school without the EFA houses, and we are so happy to see them step into their bright new future!

To celebrate International Day of the Girl on October 11, we launched a documentary which includes the life stories and messages from successful Moroccan women and the EFA girls' responses to them. You can watch it here or catch snippets of it on our IGTV channel.

Last week we witnessed an unforgettable event- the graduation of one of our first girls, Kabira, from her Master's Degree in Civil Engineering. This is a big moment for EFA, and proves that even girls from remote villages can reach for the stars with education and a nurturing enviroment. 

Khadija, another of our first students, has also been in touch to share about her new job as a Biology school teacher in her old high school. She shared with us: 

"It is an amazing experience and I am glad that I have this chance, because being educated was always a dream for me that came true, but teaching was just impossible even in the dream. I grew up seeing the teachers as the most wonderful, and amazing people in the world. I was raised to respect them in all situations, so it was very big for me to do this noble job.

But here I am  I have already corrected about 120 pages of a diagnostic test of my students ,and I feel that they really need me. I can see all the problems that we had when we were studying. I feel exactly where I should be because these kids need to believe in themselves and I think I can help them with that. I can tell them that education is the key to anything you want in the world !!! And no matter how impossible their dream looks, that it can came true by education and hard work!"

[see Kabira and Khadija in the images below]

When Kabira and Khadija started at EFA, they didn't know other girls like them who had completed school or gone to University. It's amazing to see that the new girls now have the older girls like them as strong role models, giving them the courage to go to school and be the change that is so needed for girls in their rural communities. This is how change happens, one girl at a time. 

Thank you for your amazing support so that these dreams can become a reality!

Links:

• New EFA Documentary