Adoption of Marrakech and Tamazouzt Villages in Morocco
Adoption of Tamazouzt School in Marrakech
The SSIO Morocco has initiated a comprehensive community adoption project in Marrakech, Morocco, in the Tamazouzt School. Several components of this project began in 2017 and have been completed. There are ongoing projects in social service, education and medical service. These projects have been undertaken by the SSIO EHV team and the SSIO school team.
The social service projects include completion of well renovation for water supply for sanitation and water supply for plantations (completed in June 2018). Projects including an irrigation system and planting of trees were also completed in 2017. The SSIO Morocco has also completed purchases of books for the school library in July 2018, and ongoing projects include construction of corridors and installation of libraries in classrooms. Other ongoing social service projects include coordination and organisation of green spaces and educational gardens in the school. Creation and distribution of Green Bags for the Go-Green initiative are also underway.
In the field of education, SSEHV training with transmission of educational materials and follow-up visits have been completed. The creation of guidelines to help teachers integrate EHV into the daily curriculum and follow-up of teachers applying the program in their classrooms are continuing.
On December 8th 2018 a Medical Caravan was organized to cover the Medicare aspect of the project. The objective of the caravan was to provide general medical check-up to determine the health status of all the children. Four hundred twenty-one children were examined, with 352 children aged between 6 and 12 and 69 children aged between 4 and 6. Tamazouzt is a rural area where access to health facilities and doctors is far more difficult than elsewhere. This caravan was a blessing and a wish of the school committee that came true with the help of the SSIO Morocco.
A follow up medical camp was organised on April 20, 2019, with the help of the Ministry of Health and a local NGO. The objective of this camp was to identify children who required dental and eye care and to give them the necessary treatment.
The local NGO helped by organising volunteer doctors and opticians, along with young adults from the Red Cross. The local NGO was also able to organise dental chairs and other equipment. SSIO Morocco collaborated with the school representatives to organise the rest of the logistics.
The team of doctors included two dentists, two opticians, two assistants, and two coordinators. Three hundred fifty-two children were examined. Eighty-eight dental extractions were performed. Sixty-four required glasses out of which three also needed surgery.
Children also participated in dental hygiene workshop. The Ministry of Health provided toothbrushes and toothpaste for the children.
The SSIO Morocco, along with the medical NGO and the school committee will analyse the medical reports soon and follow up with the delivery of eyeglasses.
Post Covid Service Activities in Marrakech
During the lockdown in Morocco, SSIO Morocco was able to do service on May 7th, 2020. Food bags (consisting of rice, pasta, lentils, dates, cooking oil, flour, sugar, Moroccan mint tea, soap, and detergents) were prepared and given to the widows in the village of Tamazouzt, Marrakech.
Reservoir Construction at Douar (Village) Ait Bouhmouch in Tamazouzt Village
SSIO Morocco has completed a project of building a reservoir in a village in Tamazout (29km away from the city of Marrakech), with the goal of bringing water to the community of 300 people living there. The construction of the reservoir started in December 2018 and was completed in October 2019.
The reservoir has been named “Chateau de l’amitié” which in English means “Reservoir of Friendship”. It has a depth of 52 meters and a water capacity of 28 cubic meters. This reservoir distributes 27000 liters of water daily, serving the village with potable drinkable water. This water is also used for maintaining hygiene, cooking, and cleaning.
This is the 2nd “Adoption of a Community” project undertaken by SSIO Morocco. Water is the elixir of life and we are fortunate and happy to be able to provide this valuable service as part of the 95 communities adoption project.
Women Empowerment in Tamazouzt Village
Following the reservoir project at the Tamazouzt village, Morocco initiated another project for women empowerment on 29th February 2020. There were 40 women between the ages of 20 and 40 in this village of 300 people that wanted us to do something for them. The goal was to empower them so that they could do more for themselves, their families, and their community. The first initiative involves installing sewing machines and biweekly sewing classes. A literacy teacher has also been engaged by SSIO Morocco to teach these women to read and write Arabic. These classes are held three times a week. The older women of this village are also enthusiastic about learning so that they could read the Quran. The classes also discuss topics such as personal hygiene, parenting, time management, and other SSEHV related concepts.
Food Distribution in Tamazouzt Village
On November 29th, food items were distributed to 17 needy families including 12 widows in the Tamazouzt village adopted by SSIO Morocco. Each family consists of 5 to 7 members.
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