Ambassador Riley Outreach Trip to Zagora on January 24, 2008

In the context of the bilateral relationship between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Morocco, U.S. Ambassador Thomas T. Riley will make a visit to the Province of Zagora on January 24, 2008.  On this occasion, he will meet with local officials and community leaders on issues of regional interest, and visit several projects – some of which have received U.S. funding – benefiting Moroccan civil society.  

The Ambassador plans to make a courtesy call on Mr. Ali Biognash, Governor of the Province of Zagora, to discuss regional and local issues. 

The Ambassador will visit “Forum Bni Zoli for Development and Communication”, a non-governmental organization (NGO) that encourages underprivileged youth in the Zagora area to become more involved in their community.  There, he will have the opportunity to meet with local youth (aged 17-24) who benefited from a series of workshops organized by Forum Bni Zoli last year on the Moroccan electoral process, human rights, religious tolerance, and the political process. 

The workshops were made possible in part by a grant from the U.S. Embassy’s Public Affairs Section in Rabat.  Forum Bni Zoli is also working with the U.S. Embassy on a sports program focusing on girls’ soccer.  In Tissergate, the Ambassador will visit a girls’ home that is part of a network of dormitories created by local non-governmental organizations with support from the U.S. Agency for International Development, (USAID).  It is part of the Rural Girls’ Scholarship Project managed by the “Comité de Soutien à la Scolarisation des Filles” (Girls’ Educational Support Committee, or CSSF) and its local NGO partner, the “Association des Femmes pour le Développement et la Solidarité” (AFDES).  CSSF developed the Scholarship for Success Program to address one of the main impediments to girls’ education in Morocco: the lack of access to middle school for rural girls whose schools are located far from home.  CSSF lobbied for funds from the Moroccan private sector and international donors and transferred these to local partner NGOs to manage modest and safe girls’ dormitories near the middle schools. 

Today 20 associations manage 34 homes located in 10 different provinces of Morocco and more than 1,000 girls have benefited from this program.  AFDES manages the home in Tissergate, a traditional mud-thatched house structure that currently houses 40 girls.  AFDES also manages another girls’ home in Bni Zoli.   In addition to lodging and food, the association provides tuition support to the girls, and often arranges extra curricular activities during weekends, sometimes along with the home in Beni Zoli. In Asrir, the Ambassador will visit “Association Salam”, an NGO that aims to better the living conditions of women and children in this region.  It hosts projects such as literacy classes, courses in carpet-weaving and other income-generating activities, and training in animal husbandry, sanitation and health awareness.  The Association also runs a kindergarten for local children aged 4 to 6, thus freeing the children’s mothers to pursue remunerative work.  

The Ambassador will have lunch with civil society leaders and observe youth activities at the Dar Chebab in Zagora, where he will be able to interact with young Moroccans.

                      Rabat, January 22, 2008