Support Girls and Women's Co-Ops in Morocco

Celebrating Success:

The women’s Coop of Tassa Ouirgane village in the High Atlas Mountains is proving to be a source of inspiration for the surrounding communities and our HAF team.

We are so pleased to report that thanks to your generous donations, the Coop’s sewing and embroidery training is in full swing! The trainer teaches the women and girls of the Coop sewing, crocheting and embroidery in small groups throughout the day, and has already transferred technical skills in both handicrafts and machine sewing. While we are so impressed with the progress the Coop in the past few months, there is still much more to do in the field of education.

The Challenge Ahead:

Global Giving UK Ambassador Charlotte Burrows paid the women and girls of the Coop a visit last month. Charlotte reflects on the conversations she had with the Coop members about their lack of educational opportunities:

“As we sat down around an impressive spread of home-cooked food, the women talked freely about the insufficiency of girls’ education in their rural community. The nearest college is 30km away, a commute which families cannot afford, and so education stops at the age of 16 at the latest, although often as early as 10”

We are so grateful for our Global Giving supports who enable us to work with the amazing women and girls of Tassa Ourigane. With local partnerships and your support, the Coop will continue to flourish and will expand its literacy program. 

HAF celebrated Mother’s Day this year by highlighting the story of Lalla Kbira, President of the women’s cooperative. She says: “I am a mother of 7 children; 5 boys and 2 girls. My two daughters are married as well as three of my sons. I am a midwife and a cook, two professions that I love. I have given necessary care, support and advice to pregnant women for more than 30 years. More than 100 children were born through the care I provide and now all of these children in the village call me grandma. Thanks to God, I have never had a serious situation or a problem as a midwife. My dream is to continue to provide care for pregnant women and their infants. I feel so happy to do this because I get rewarded by Allah.  As president of the women's cooperative, I would love our cooperative to be a successful one and I aspire to make it so, and to make our business strong so that we can provide for all of our community. More than that, life is beautiful but hard, however we should be harder to keep it beautiful. For this, I want men and women of my community to contribute in making our village a prosperous, safe, and peaceful place."

Thanks to the support of our generous donors, on 5 May, HAF was able to deliver sewing and embroidery equipment and material to the women’s coop in Tassa Ouirgane. The women were so pleased to receive this delivery. They immediately divided the groups into a girls group and a women’s group to prepare to get the equipment ready for production.

The women have also received a special visitor. On 15 May, US Consul General Brian Shukan visited the coop site in the village of Tassa Ouirgane. Mr. Shukan saw the women knitting items for the home and purchased some of their goods. He and his team offered very helpful advice and ideas on product marketing. 

Thank you to the donors who enable us to help remarkable women such as Kbira by offering them new hope and opportunities.

Links:

• Press Release about the visit of the US Consul General