Earthquake Fund for High Atlas Girls

Hi everyone,

I started this project after spending five years sharing in the journey of girls from remote villages in the Atlas Mountains as they try to pursue their studies, from high school to university.

The story of the project goes back to 2019, when I worked as a volunteer English teacher in the High Atlas in a boarding house which helps girls from remote villages access secondary education through providing free accommodation in a dormitory located close to the local school. Many girls live in villages too far from the nearest school, so living in the boarding house allows them to attend school during the week, and they return to their villages at weekends.

Unfortunately, COVID-19 took me away from Morocco, but I continued to follow the girls’ lives from afar, helping where I could, and finally returned in August 2022 to start my PhD research. Through my PhD, I am following the lives of 50 girls (the original 50 girls who I lived in the dormitory with in 2019) as they navigate life post-school, from continuing their studies at university, to finding their first job, getting married and having children. My research documents the challenges they face as they try to navigate life as the first generation of educated girls from this region.

After moving to Marrakech in 2022, I found myself providing an informal support network for many of my previous students who were now studying at university. This ranged from helping girls learn how to take a bus, to finding them small jobs, and having many of them live in my house which became renamed ‘the commune’ (not the plan!)

Just before midnight on the 8th of September a tragic earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale hit Morocco.

Sadly, the communities where I lived and worked were the epicenter of the earthquake. Many of the villages are completely gone and I lost some of the 50 girls. Many of them lost family members. In particular, many girls were unable to return to university in Marrakech as their family homes were destroyed and their parents need to save money for rebuilding, meaning that they cannot help pay for girls' rent and food in Marrakech. If girls stay in the village and can't continue their studies, often their only option is to get married. At this point, I realized that the need was beyond anything I could provide personally, and decided to launch this project to support girls from the High Atlas to start or continue their university studies.

Girls from High Atlas villages face unimaginable challenges in order to continue their studies, and the simplest help can make the greatest difference to their lives and futures. I hope that through this fund, we can come together to support these girls as they forge a new way forward for girls from their region and future generations.

Thank you,

Ella

What does the fund offer?

Girls supported by the fund receive a monthly bursary of 500 dirhams (approximately $50). This enables them to pay food costs, transport costs and rent in a shared room.

At the beginning of the academic year, girls receive a one-off 250 dirham ($25) book grant.

Some girls are not studying in public universities and are instead studying vocational training courses, and the fund also covers their school fees.

2023/2024

In the 2023/24 academic year, this fund supported 15 girls to continue their studies. You can read more about each girl in the updates section below.

2024/2025

Many girls are still in need of support this year, and I am committed to supporting their studies until they have finished their degrees or vocational training programs.

Naima's Story

A story that is particularly close to my heart is that of my friend and former student Naima. Naima lost her whole family in the earthquake. She was airlifted from her home, but we then heard news that she had later passed away in hospital. 8 days later, I received a phone call to let me know that Naima was in fact alive and possibly in the military hospital in Marrakech. With a group of her friends, we took a taxi and I searched every ward in the hospital, until we finally found Naima in the last ward that we visited.

It's a miracle that Naima survived, but she lost her right arm. Naima was in the final year of her degree, and was also a henna artist (right-handed). Against all odds, Naima graduated from her degree in Islamic Studies. Despite not being able to attend any university classes for the entire academic year, she studied by herself from hospital and was able to attend the exams. She bravely decided to enroll in a dressmaking course. She is currently living with extended family in Agadir and we were able to help her to purchase some tools from the UK necessary to adapt to her life. There is funding set aside to support Naima in her next steps.