Camelia Harkousse HAF Intern On Monday July 1st, a group of students who are on a conflict resolution and peace-building class at George Mason University (GMU) and their professor, accompanied by HAF President Dr. Yossef and HAF Director of Project Ms. Amina, visited the Aboghlo women’s cooperative in T’nine Ourika. This cooperative could be stated

HAF Intern, UVA student She stands out in my memory as the most beautiful girl in the room. Her eyes bright with desire and friendship. She wore bold jewelry–a big ring and matching necklace. She was silly and wanted to talk and take pictures. She ran down to the creek first and asked me to

Alissa Brenn HAF Intern, graduate student On a sunny Friday morning, the High Atlas Foundation took us on a field trip to the village of Tassa Ouirgane in the Al-Haouz province. Our small but very international group consisted of students from the George Mason University in Virginia, student volunteers from all over the world, and

By Kerstin Opfer, High Atlas Foundation Electricity and energy are two of the key challenges in Africa – 2/3 of Africa’s population still has no access to electricity. Additionally electricity demand is assumed to triple until 2030. Increased use of renewable energy (RE) can help address these challenges. Africa has a considerable and largely untapped

HAF Intern, UVA student Something I have been thinking about is the relationship between top-down and bottom-up development. Community-led, participatory development plays an undeniably important role in global development within economic, political, and social spheres. I’ve seen HAF initiate local economic development through cooperative building and agricultural support for rural farmers; grassroots political movements can

HAF Intern, UVA Student I went to Ait Ourir, a city about 30 minutes outside of Marrakech to visit the Riad school. The school is surrounded by a six-foot wall that is covered by murals mainly pertaining to environmental issues. The school currently has 1,222 students, with boys and girls ages 5-12 years old, 480

HAF Intern, UVA Student This week was spent with young Moroccan women at Cadi Ayyad University in Marrakech in the Imagine Women’s Empowerment workshop. The attendees were mainly University of Virginia students, me, and 5-7 Marrakech University students, and it was very powerful to witness the evolution of the confidence and comfort level among the

This week we took part in the four day IMAGINE workshop at Cadi Ayyad University in Marrakech, with a small group of Moroccan students. I wasn’t sure what to expect from the sessions at the beginning, since there were so many different experiences in the room. Having led and participated in women’s empowerment workshops at

Camelia Harkousse HAF Intern On Wednesday 26th of June, the group accompanied by HAF Project Manager Errachid Mountassir visited a primary school in Bouchane Rhamna, where the children are learning about environmentalism. The pupils presented for the audience a play in classical Arabic. It was about forgiveness and tolerance. I was astonished how skillfully they

I didn’t think I would need to learn how to imagine at the Imagine workshops this week, but a rerouting and adjustment of my own mind became necessary. I am a pro at these workshops; engagement, listening, asking questions, empowerment. I mean I lead these activities for girls through my sorority, class service, and even

HAF Intern This week was all about women empowerment, we had a women’s workshop for four days and it was my first time to experience it. I did not know what to expect and how it will turn out… The workshop was led by HAF empowerment trainers – Amina El Hajjami, Fatima Zahra Laaribi and

HAF Intern, UVA student SCATTERED. For the past week, I’ve been trying to put into words, or just one word, what the four-day women’s empowerment workshop meant to me and I feel scattered just trying. All at once, the workshop was challenging, easy, meditative, analytical, goal-oriented, present-focused, relaxing, irritating, draining, and energizing. I’ve written down

– The Hidden Gems of Morocco, The Daily Angle, By Sarita Mehta (HAF Intern), 19 July 2019. • Arabic: Al-Watan Voice, 11 July 2019. How cooperatives may be a key factor in social and economic empowerment in the Middle East and North Africa To many people, this coming July 6 marks the passing of another Saturday. But to over 1

Morocco is on its way to being the hub of solar energy in Africa. Brooklyn Wenbo Wu HAF Intern Promoting the use of solar energy is an effective way which not only provides more access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all, but is also a feasible method to address climate change. However,

Some of the kids want to travel the world. Some of the kids want to start a business. One kid wants to play soccer AND own a bakery. These are lofty and ambitious goals for juvenile delinquents. But not for the boys at the Center for the Protection of Children in Fes. At this center,

SANAE BENAADIM HAF VOLUNTEER On the 15th of June, the team left HAF office in Marrakech in the morning toward Anamer village in Seti Fadma commune which is about 55 km out of the Red city. The team included Said El Bennani, HAF’s Project Manager, and Hassan Ait Ouatouch, HAF’s Project Assistant, Ilyas Dkhrissi (social

By Touda Bazaz HAF Volunteer On the 15th of June 2019, a group of volunteers and I left the High Atlas Foundation office in Marrakech at 09:00 am to Setti Fatma commune direction in order to participate in some of the activities that the foundation does. Along for the ride was a group of American

By Eliana Lisuzzo Development Manager Working towards any goal—large or small; individually or through a team effort—requires an action plan that will lead to achievement. Particularly for large-scale, simultaneous projects such as those the High Atlas Foundation (HAF) and its partners facilitate in communities throughout Morocco, detailing an approach to implementation is vital. On June

By Amine Fattas HAF Volunteer The rendezvous point was the HAF office. I came early and got to meet the whole team. There were two groups: UVA Students who are in Morocco on a research program and with whom I shared a bus, and the Envoys, high schoolers who were on a school trip. As

By Fatima ZAHRA LAHRIRE HAF Volunteer In order to promote and preserve the multicultural past that Morocco is known by, HAF has taken immediate action in partnership with local communities. These actions aim to protect the endemic tolerance and peace in Morocco and the long coexistence between the Muslim, Jewish, and Christian communities. The mission

HAF Intern, University of Virginia The door is always open at the High Atlas Foundation. Often, it is literally open in an attempt to generate some airflow in the office. It is also open in the sense that people are constantly going in and out. My friend Shermeen says it’s like a talk show and

HAF Intern On a hot sunny day of May 30, 2019, the group accompanied by Errachid Montassir and Amina El Hajjami, left HAF Office in Marrakech by 9 o’clock in the morning, towards the Amazigh village of Akrich. The drive took about 30 min to get to the village. The first site visited was the

Peter Wu, HAF Volunteer Essaouira may stand as a great example to the world for how religious diversity should prevail: Jewish, Muslim, and Christian communities have historically co-existed in Essaouira peacefully. While other regions of the world are endlessly fighting over religious matters, it is both interesting and delightful to observe how the Essaouira people

By Houria Chouhab HAF Volunteer Marrakech is a city entrenched in diversity, this diversity manifests itself in many ways: economically, culturally, and perhaps most notably, religiously. On 21st of May, Mr. Jacky Kadoch, the President of the Jewish Community in Marrakech-Safi region, organized an Iftar ceremony that brought both Muslim and Jewish communities together to

CHOUHAB Houria HAF Volunteer On the 22nd of May in a commune called Ounagha 25km away from Marrakech MOGADOR Cooperative, a women’s cooperative of Argan products and Amlou, had a meeting with The High Atlas Foundation’s team and the ambassadors of FRÉ Skin Care. Both FRÉ and HAF execute activities within this cooperative, benefitting the

ABOUT TWENTY-FOUR HOURS AGO, I planted a tree. It was already taller than the other tree sprouts lined up next to it, looking like the leader of a small pack of children, still a child itself. I bent down and carefully grabbed it, brought it back to the freshly dug square hole in the ground,

by Nisreen Abo-Sido HAF Volunteer, Thomas J. Watson Fellow In Morocco, just 26% of girls–in contrast to 79% of boys–residing in rural areas are enrolled in primary school.  Furthermore, rates of school dropout–particularly between primary and secondary school–are 15% higher for rural girls than for boys, and three times higher for rural girls compared to

By Elouahsoussi Rachid HAF intern On Wednesday the 14th of May, members of the High Atlas Foundation’s team visited Tassa Ouirgane to conduct a women’s empowerment meeting and pay a visit to the foundation’s nursery there. The team consisted of Amina El Hajjami, HAF’s Director of Projects, and Hassan Ait Ouatouch, HAF’s Project Assistant, as

By Houria Chouhab HAF Volunteer On the 10th of May, Dr. Yossef Ben-Meir, HAF’s President, and the HAF team visited two villages in the High Atlas mountains not far from the Red City: Talaint and Anamer, which are two villages of the Setti Fatma Commune. HAF’s team had the pleasure to be accompanied by Aysha

By Houria CHOUHAB HAF volunteer One of my favorite activities to attend with HAF facilitators is women’s empowerment workshops. You can notice the difference between the first day and the last day in their behaviors, voices tones, body language, and the sparkle of their eyes. On last Saturday, April 27th, I joined Empowerment Trainer, Ibtissam