{"id":1149,"date":"2018-10-23T13:18:58","date_gmt":"2018-10-23T11:18:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/didouqen.com\/?p=1149"},"modified":"2021-02-19T12:02:09","modified_gmt":"2021-02-19T12:02:09","slug":"evaluating-samis-project-trees-for-schoolchildren","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress-haf.ddev.site\/evaluating-samis-project-trees-for-schoolchildren\/","title":{"rendered":"Evaluating Sami\u2019s Project: Trees for Schoolchildren"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the annual tree planting event on January 16th<\/sup><\/sub><\/b>\u00a0upon us, HAF used the opportunity to evaluate the past three planting seasons. HAF wishes to constantly grow and change for the better and part of this process is learning from the different of outcomes.<\/p>\n

Within the scope of the evaluation of\u00a0Sami\u2019s Project<\/a>\u00a0we visited 15 schools in the Rhamna and Al Haouz provinces. Our goal was to evaluate whether Sami\u2019s Project met its three main objectives:<\/p>\n

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  1. Environmental education of children: Students should learn about an eco-friendly approach to breaking the cycle of poverty, and should be encouraged to preserve their natural environment.<\/li>\n
  2. Conservation of nature: Planting trees should counteract deforestation and soil erosion.<\/li>\n
  3. Income generation: Fruits should increase the income of rural families and help them to produce beyond subsistence agriculture.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    We found that the children enjoyed the tree planting event and vividly remember the day. \u00a0The tree planting event enriched the rural curriculum and equipped the students with knowledge about the benefits of trees and green development. \u00a0Seeing the glance in the children\u2019s eyes when they talked about the tree planting event gave me great joy. It struck me that all students included trees after we asked them to draw their dream school.<\/p>\n

    Obviously, they value trees highly and could even give multiple reasons why trees are beneficial for example for clean air, shadow and a welcoming atmosphere. Furthermore, the students and teachers expressed a demand for more fruit and forest trees, as well as herbs and flowers in order\u00a0to enhance\u00a0the welcoming atmosphere at schools even more.<\/p>\n

    \u00a0Most of the schools care well for the trees, however there can be a water problem in the summer. Building wells would address this problem and would benefit the whole community. We detected some cases where the trees died due to water shortages.\u00a0 We also found in cases that new principals were not aware of the High Atlas Foundation due to their recent hiring, or when the contact person for HAF left the school.\u00a0 Therefore, thorough monitoring and control is essential, as HAF is dedicated to do.<\/p>\n

    \u00a0Communication and training\u00a0is\u00a0highly important to increase the positive impact of Sami\u2019s Project. Involving parents associations, teachers, students and the HAF to a combined force, will strengthen contacts and therefore benefit the community as a whole.\u00a0 The High Atlas Foundation will continue to monitor Sami\u2019s Project carefully and motivate the participants to show sufficient self-commitment via special training sessions and community meetings. This will thereby better guarantee that the trees will grow to be strong and healthy. Simultaneously, communities are already getting trained to raise their voice and participate in projects in order to change their environment for the better.<\/p>\n

    \u00a0One example of how community efforts can make an extraordinary change is the Boaaza school outside of Marrakech. They started with just one class room, no wall, no toilets and no trees. The HAF helped to build separate bathrooms for boys and girls and planted fruit trees (funded by Katharine L\u2019Heureux at\u00a0Kahina Giving Beauty<\/a>)<\/a>. Two years later these trees have grown to be strong and already produced fruits. The profits of this fruits will help the school to build another classroom in the future.<\/p>\n

    \u00a0Overall, it was a great pleasure to see the literal fruits of HAF\u2019s hard work over the past years and to learn from the past three years will make our project even more sustainable.<\/p>\n

    \u00a0We hope that you\u00a0give to expand Sami\u2019s Project with schoolchildren<\/a>\u00a0in marginalized communities in Morocco.<\/p>\n

    \u00a0Benefits of Sami\u2019s Project:<\/p>\n