Aliza In The Field
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Showing posts tagged Casablanca
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Yesterday we went to the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, which has the biggest minaret in the world and is the 7th largest mosque in the world. The inside is massive, and the guide told us they can fit more than 100,000 people (which usually happens during Ramadan).
It is also literally on the Atlantic Ocean. There is this huge plaza, and just on the side there is a small beach with kids just jumping off one of the mosque walls right into the water. The whole complex was really beautiful.
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Yesterday we had our first site visit, to SOS Village d’Enfants about an hour outside Casablanca. SOS is an Austrian NGO that operates children’s villages around the world, though in each country they have a slightly different purpose. Morocco has five villages housing 700 children, most of whom were abandoned by single mothers due to the religious stigma in this country of being an unwed mother. Many of the children arrive when they are still babies, but others come when they are older from orphanages around the country. They are allowed to stay until they are 23, or if they find a job before that they can still come home on weekends.
The villages have houses with 8-10 children of varying ages in each, plus a house mother and a few assistants. The above photos are from one of the homes, whose residents very nicely invited us in to meet some of the kids and have some tea. The village also has a kindergarten, social workers and administrators, tutors, and facilities for art, music (that’s Bada, above, showing off his drum skills) and sports.
SOS is doing some really great work, and Shonali and I had a fun visit to the site. Read more about the work SOS is doing in Morocco here: http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/keep-100-moroccan-children-away-from-abandonment/
Aliza is in Morocco, Spain and France as a part of GlobalGiving’s In The Field program. Follow along at alizainthefield.tumblr.com or on Twitter @alizaapp.
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On Monday, Shonali and I held a successful workshop in Casablanca for about 20 participants. We got a great space to use with the help of AFEM, a women’s entrepreneurship organization in Morocco that we think will be a great new strategic partner for GlobalGiving. We were also thrilled to have with us two current partners, BAYTI and SOS Village d’Enfants, both of whom attended to learn how to maximize their presence on the site. Shonali and I visited the SOS project when we first arrived, and BAYTI has programming for disadvantaged children. We will see one of their projects, in Kenitra, on Friday.
This workshop featured organizations more familiar with online fundraising than at our Marrakech workshop, though I would say enthusiasm was equal at both. It was great to hear about some of the great projects these organizations are working on, and we look forward to seeing some of their names on the list for the next Open Challenges in September and December!
Aliza is in Morocco, Spain and France as a part of GlobalGiving’s In The Field program. Follow along at alizainthefield.tumblr.com or on Twitter @alizaapp.
