|
NEF has a dozen staff based in offices in Rabat, Ouarzazate and Agadir.
1) Primary Education Reform: The US Department of State Middle East Partnership Initiative has funded NEF since 2004 to enhance enrollment and retention in rural primary schools, particularly for girls, in the High Atlas Mountains.
- From 2004 to 2007, on a budget of $600,000, NEF's program focused on 21 schools in the Ghessate and Imminoulaoune rural communes in the Ouarzazate province with 3,000 students and increased overall attendance by 35%, girls' attendance from an average of 10% to 100% and retention to 98%.
- In October 2007, at the request of the Ministry of Education and with a budget of $1.5 million for 2 1/2 years, NEF began implementing the fieldwork into a model for community-driven rural primary education reform to be used throughout the Soussa-Massa-Draa Region, which consists of seven provinces.
2) Local Governance: NEF is responsible for providing social support and mediation mechanisms to urban slum dwellers and technical assistance and training to local civil society organizations, as part of a three-year USAID project to support the Government of Morocco's "City Without Slums Initiative". NEF has an $800,000 budget through RTI, the implementing agency.
- NEF has relocated 910 families in Nouaceur; developed links between the slum residents and local government; settled over 50 disputes between residents and officials, provided access to banking services for mortgage and savings programs, developed a Women' Center for income generating projects, and strengthened CBOs.
- NEF will begin work in 3 slums in Mansouria in November 2007. A social assessment already has been conducted.
NEF's History in Morocco: NEF's work with rural communities in southern Morocco began in 1987. A dairy goat and family nutrition project helped to establish a cooperative cheese factory that remains in operation, independent of outside assistance. An appropriate technology training center, founded in 1993, focused on income generation, sustainable agriculture and food processing, water, and health. In 1997, NEF's efforts began to focus on creating village associations to help rural communities organize and build infrastructure. A micro-credit program supported weaving and beekeeping. Adult literacy projects taught women with NEF-developed Berber language materials; and local women's committees taught health skills with similar Berber training manuals. NEF's activities have reached 41 villages in Ouarzazate, Zagora, and Oujda provinces with more than 20,000 of Morocco's poorest citizens.
|
