In response to the needs expressed by rural Moroccan people, the High Atlas Foundation launched a campaign to plant one million fruit tree saplings on June 23, 2006.  These saplings will be planted in ten nurseries around the country to benefit hundreds of rural villages that neighbor Morocco’s nature protected areas.  Our announcement of this vital initiative for Morocco was made at a fundraising reception hosted by the Moroccan Ambassador to the United States, H.E. Aziz Mekouar, at his home in Bethesda, Maryland.

We are building diverse and highly effective partnerships to achieve this ambitious two-year project, among which include:

• Ministry of Social Development, Family, and Solidarity
• Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Maritime
• High Commission of Waters and Forests
• Rural Communes
• Ambassador’s Empowerment Fund at the United States Embassy in Rabat
• Jewish Committee of Morocco
• Association of Solidarity for Development, Environmental Conservation, and   the Protection of Walnuts
• Marrakech21 Foundation

In order to attain the necessary funding of $350,000 needed to plant these one million saplings, the High Atlas Foundation is organizing important events and pursuing special programs:

• We created a special memorial – The Kate Jeans-Gail Memorial Fruit Tree Nursery Fund – as a living reminder of our dear friend and former Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco who tragically passed away in 2003 with her mom in a car accident in Oregon.
• Our next fundraising reception will be in New York City this September 21st, where Advisor to the King of Morocco, André Azoulay, a Member of our Advisory Board, and Carrol Bellamy, former Director of Peace Corps and UNICEF, will be our Guests of Honor.  We will also be having an event in Casablanca after Ramadan 2006, which will include the Jewish Community in Morocco.
• We submitted a project proposal to GlobalGiving, which is in partnership with the National Peace Corps Association.  We will have more information about this on-line giving program in the coming weeks.