A new house opens

Starting a second house was always going to be a big step. We had a meeting with the Governor D’Al Haouz in June 2009 about where the second house should be, and he highlighted the need for a house in the most rural region of his province, Talaat n’Yakoub near the Mosque of Tinmal. We realised we did not have the funds to build a new property but we had enough to rent a place and refurbish it (if a suitable place could indeed be found with a secure long lease). By 1st July 2009, EFA had signed a lease, and July and August saw intense work on the renovation of the building and the house opened in September 2009 with 11 girls attending in the first year’s intake. Fund-raising efforts by Bristol Grammar School completely funded the conversion. The plan is that between 10 to 12 girls will enter each September taking the occupancy of the house to about 36 girls. So EFA now has even more responsibility to provide for these girls and your support and donations are increasingly needed.

If you would like to see some photos of the property, please visit the photo gallery section.

Newsletter September 2009

The September 2009 Newsletter is now available to download and is packed full of interesting articles.

Download the newsletter

Bristol students help make a big difference in Morocco

Bristol Grammar School’s recent trip to Morocco has been given a full-page spread in the Bristol Evening Post.

Fulham Cross Girls’ School raise £ 1000 for EFA

In February 2009, for the second year running, Fulham Cross organised a fundraiser event to support the Collège d’Asni in Morocco. Students, parents and staff participated in the event and cooked together, tried their hand at traditional henna tattoos and Moroccan dancing. Parents cooked homemade food which was sold to staff and students and the lessons also took an international theme for example in Art where students looked at Moroccan tile designs and made their own. The week culminated in our International Dress Day which saw an array of colourful costumes light up the school. In all, we raised just under £ 1000 and hope to continue organising this yearly event.

Bristol Grammar School raise an astounding £ 11,000 for Education For All

Students from Bristol Grammar School (BGS) under the excellent tutorage of Andrew Dimberline and team have managed to raise an astonishing £11,000 for Education For All.

A huge thank you from everyone at Education For All to all at BGS and particularly from the girls at Asni who will be the recipients of this hard work and generous donation.

BGS have been kind enough to document their recent trip, and links to these reports can be found on the schools page. Please do take a look and be inspired by their worthy efforts.

Dar Asni Open Day

A big thank you to everyone for their support at the Dar Asni Open Day. We were glad you could come and see and meet the girls.

We are planning for this to be an annual event on the last Sunday of April and this will be followed by a mechoui lunch at the Kasbah du Toubkal.

The event was summed up in part by one of the attendees:

“The smiling faces of the girls reminded me of the famous words of Antoine de Saint Exupery, French novelist and aviator you certainly know, who talked of "The assassinated Mozarts" hinting to those chidren who didn't have the chance to go to school so that they discover and develop their talent or their creative abilities.
I am certain that the tremendous impact on these young girls coming from isolated villages of this boarding house will change very positively their lives.
It will be very interesting that someone follows in the coming years, what these girls will be in their future life. I am certain that some of them will go far in life.”

More photos can be seen in the photo gallery page.

Newsletter and Open Day

The March 2009 Newsletter is now available to download and is packed full of interesting articles.

Download the newsletter

There is an open day at the house in Asni on April 26th, details below:

Dar Asni Open Day
Join us to celebrate the girls’ successes,
and our first anniversary!
“World change starts with educated children.”
Sunday 26th April, 2009
11.00hrs – Girls’ Boarding House, Asni
13.00hrs – Kasbah du Toubkal, Imlil
Come for coffee, meet the girls and visit Dar Asni
Afterwards an invitation to a charity Mechouie lunch at
Kasbah du Toubkal
500Dh/£40 All proceeds go to “Education for All Morocco”.
To reserve your place, go direct to:
www.justgiving.com/opendayspring09