JESS families making a difference in Morocco
#RESPECT #CARE
17/05/2022
JESS families have once again been on the road during the Eid break participating in the fifth ‘Fathers and Kids Camping’ International charity trip, this time to Morocco. Eleven Dubai-based families including three from our JESS community travelled to Asni in Southern Morocco to leave a lasting and impactful legacy, building a new classroom and sanitization block together with the local NGO team from ‘Amis Des Ecoles’ (ADE) at Dar Taliba School – a girls only boarding school with 150 students.
The underdeveloped infrastructure of the rural areas in Morocco (a beautiful country with a rich history) and the poverty of parents makes it extremely hard for young girls to pursue their education beyond primary school. Enrolment rates are as low as 16%. They are easily sent to work in unskilled jobs with low pay or married off during their adolescence. To ensure girls in rural areas complete their studies, Dar Taliba school provides girls with lodging, educational support and psychosocial enrichment programs.
“Impact and community service is in our DNA at Fathers and Kids Camping. We have delivered humanitarian projects which have impacted over 100,000 lives in Africa and the UAE since 2018. JESS has always been a big supporter of our projects and we are super grateful for it”.
- Vahid Fotuhi, Founder of Fathers and Kids Camping and JESS parent.
The team from Dubai under the guidance of ‘Fathers And Kids Camping’ and ‘Impact Adventures’ in partnership with NGO - ‘Amis Des Ecoles’ undertook this massive project along with local builders to build a new 40m squared multifunction room to increase capacity of the school to be used as a breakfast, lunch, dinner and study area. New toilets and a septic tank were also constructed along with a green area, tree planting and a water dripping system. Due to the lack of sanitation facilities previously available to the students, the girls avoided going to school.
“ADE was so honoured to have met the Fathers and Kids group. You made a difference to the lives of over 300 girls in Asni. You gave them hope for a better future. Through your actions, you showed them that solidarity and compassion is what makes the world a better place. Thanks to you, the girls will have a better environment to work and live in. Thank you for your generosity”
– Amis Des Ecoles, local NGO.
Although a monumental task, the inspirational trip paid off and the proud team were able first hand to witness the positive impact the construction will have on the girls who study and live at Dar Taliba.
Grant Lupson, father of Sebastian, Alex and Max and parent at JESS Jumeirah explained, “it was incredibly rewarding and so much fun to give to an undeserved community in this way. And doing it with our kids makes it a whole other level of investment as they see first-hand the impact they can have.”
Having completed their mission, the group of 19 parents and 27 kids then hiked 16km into the high Atlas Mountains to visit one of the remote villages served by the school. They met some of the girls and their families and saw first-hand the impact education and community action can have in underserved areas. Fortunately, they then took a couple of days to rest their weary feet in Marrakech before travelling back to Dubai in time for school.
