To celebrate the second International Day for Street Children on 12th April 2012, the MCT team in Taroudannt organised an exciting two-day trip to Marrakech for all of the children at the centre.
Setting off early on Thursday morning, they travelled by bus, drumming, singing and even dancing all the way! The children were taken all over Marrakech – to the Menara Gardens and the El Badi and El Bahia Palaces; through the Grand Souk and Djamaa El Fna square, where the children were captivated by snake charmers and baboons.

On Thursday evening everyone was generously invited to a party organised by Aziz Khalidi, a film maker who is currently producing a documentary about MCT’s work. They were welcomed by a crowd of smiling and enthusiastic children, carrying flags and waving banners, who led the group through winding alleys to the house, where each was greeted with a date, a glass of milk and a rose. The children had a great time – enjoying an evening of both feasting and singing!

To find out more, please visit MCT’s facebook account where you can view more photos.

This weekend the team organised a surprise party for him to thank him for all the time, energy and passion he has put into his work for the centre. All of the children were invited, as well as all staff and Khalid’s wife and family.

Thank you Khalid, we wish you all the best in the future!

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

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.

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…

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.