SCP

In the last three decades the number of children on Morocco’s streets has grown steadily, and Taroudannt, where MCT’s projects are based, has several hundred children who spend the majority of their time on the street. These children are sometimes stigmatized and isolated within their own communities, leaving them vulnerable to a large range of health, legal, and psychosocial issues. Some of these young people work on the street, collecting rubbish, begging, and in prostitution. Some of these children are able to attend school, but many do not.

Civil society has attempted to respond to this situation, and organisations such as Bayti in Casablanca and Association Al-Karam in Marrakech have launched large projects to support children who live in poverty. Despite an increase in awareness-raising campaigns in the Moroccan media, the prospects for children in poverty remain bleak in Taroudannt.

MCT therefore began a new and exciting project in 2010 to meet the needs of vulnerable street-connected children in Taroudannt. The first stage of MCT’s Street Children Project began in January as a research study to assess the situation on the ground by talking to young people about their lives, the problems they face and their hopes for the future. The results of these interviews guided MCT’s strategy in assisting street-connected children and their families. The findings were collated into a report which was launched in October 2010 (A Different Path: Street & Working Children in Morocco), which helped to shape the initial implementation of the project.

MCT implemented a project which aims to deliver targeted support to help children living and working on the streets of Taroudannt to improve their situation. In the long term, MCT seeks to use a holistic approach that liaises with not only children, but their families as well, to help young people in Taroudannt gain access to education and economic empowerment.

After being successfully imbedded within the community during just one year of operation, the project went through its first expansion phase to meet assessed needs. By working with the community and existing organisations in the area, MCT believes it is possible to create brighter futures for street children and their families.