Sarah

DECEMBER 15, 2011 

Taroudannt Express

Last Sunday, the MCT team in Taroudannt organised an exciting activity day at the SCP centre based on the TV show ‘Peking Express’. 11 participants were divided into teams of two and three and were sent on an exciting treasure hunt for puzzle pieces. The teams were given clues to find places around the town and then had to complete a series of physical and mental challenges in order to win a piece of their puzzle and collect the clue for the location of their next challenge. The children enjoyed all 14 of their challenges and had a lovely breakfast and lunch with the MCT team. The lucky teams who came in at 1st, 2nd and 3rd with the most puzzle pieces were also awarded wonderful prizes! The children had a fantastic day, learning valuable skills of problem-solving and teamwork and most importantly having fun and laughing a lot! The children are already looking forward to their next activity day!

If you would like to see photos of the activity day in action, please check out our Facebook page or click on the following link;

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.260783413982190.66820.100001515991446&type=1

NOVEMBER 25, 2011 

UN OHCHR Convention

At the beginning of November, an expert consultation was held in Geneva as part of the study on street children commissioned by the UN Human Rights Council. This was a great opportunity for our in-country coordinator Sarah Kadri to present the research and findings of some of the fantastic participatory work carried out in Taroudannt by the MCT team.

Amidst the many misconceptions surrounding the lives of street children across the world, over the last year the UN Human Rights Council has increasingly recognised the fact that studies on street children should focus on the reasons children end up on the street, the complexities they face on daily basis and, most importantly, the street children themselves deserve to be represented in order to implement future policies and strategies.

Therefore, MCT has been working unremittingly on a project committed to giving street children a voice. The main aim of the research has been to gain a better understanding of the lives of street children in terms of giving the children an opportunity to discuss their situations, hopes, fears, and dreams, as well as their views on the support systems surrounding them and their knowledge of their access to rights.

The research was carried out by facilitating small group discussions and role-play situations with groups separated into similar sex and age groups to ensure maximum confidentiality and comfort. As a result of the close and trusting relationships the street children have with MCT’S social workers, the participatory work revealed important issues. It became apparent that the youths were not accustomed to talking about or aware of their access to rights. However, most of the children are committed to their education and they are becoming increasingly aware of the support systems that are available, especially from MCT’s centre in Taroudannt. Although the children face uncertain and difficult futures, they remain patient and hopeful, and are determined to help others in life. One child said ‘I want to help others. If I am to be asked, what have you done with your life, I want to say that I’ve helped others. The stuff that you do, like giving to those who’ve been deprived of something.’

MCT is continuing to work alongside the UN OHCHR to ensure that Moroccan street children’s voices are heard in order to contribute to the making of new policies and strategies which will aid in creating a brighter future for the lives of street children across the world.

SEPTEMBER 20, 2011 

SCP Weekly Update: Beginning of the School Year

The summer holiday has ended and the children are getting back to school. The social work team are organising schedules at the centre to meet the children’s needs as they start school again. On the 15th of September, the teacher began classes again. Currently, there are more than 25 children coming regularly and the list total is expected to be 31 children. The team would certainly appreciate any extra hands in the classroom! Please contact us if you would like to volunteer your time in the classroom or could even put us in touch with a group of local volunteers.

The application process is currently underway in filling the post of a pre-school teacher. Also, 13 of the 15 spots open for children of pre-school age have been filled, with priority going to those of families already active in the SCP.

Another child received identification papers! Several more are still in the works while others have been discovered to be without them, both at the centre and at the school. The school headmaster is working with our social work team to arrange meetings with the parents to move forward in the process. The toughest obstacle is convincing the parents of the importance of this documentation for their child’s future.

To start off the new school year, we have a new team member working on the SCP! Both our London and Taroudannt MCT teams extend a warm welcome to Sarah Kadri, who is now living in Taroudannt to volunteer full-time at the centre. She will be helping in the classroom with non-formal education activities and teaching French, conducting a 1-year project evaluation, and providing invaluable communication aid between both teams. We all look forward to working with her!

Stay tuned for more to come as the centre gets going in the new school year…

AUGUST 1, 2011 

SCP Weekly Update: 25-29 July

No major news from the centre with the summer holiday. Although, some activities still continue with children who are there. Appointments with physicians for medical cases and with courts for identification papers are still being made and assisted by the social workers. The team at the centre have made sure that the 7 children going on the camping trip next week are prepared – we wish them well!

JULY 23, 2011 

SCP Weekly Update: 18-22 July

It’s the summer holiday in Morocco! Our social workers and teacher are taking their turns on holiday as well as the children, seven of whom will be going camping during the month of August on a trip organised by the Ministry of Education.

We also have a new kind of medical case in one of the families. A mother of 4 children and the sole breadwinner in the family has just been told by a doctor at the hospital in Taroudannt that she has breast cancer. She now needs money to get a mammogram in Agadir. Her youngest child is staying with another of the families in the project whilst the other three reman with her.  The team is working out how best to help.