This page is for the friends and family of Alex Deans and Liz Toole who wish to donate to Education for All Morocco in lieu of part or all of their wedding gift to the happy couple. This is their story...
Alex and Liz met in Morocco in December 2009. Alex was working for the Peace Corps in the remote village of Tamatert, up in the High Atlas mountains about 45 miles south of Marrakech. Liz was volunteering for Education for All Morocco in Asni, about 15 miles down the mountain road from Tamatert.
Education for All Morocco (EFA) provides access to a secondary education for girls in rural areas of the High Atlas mountains, who otherwise would not have such an opportunity available to them.
The girls come from Berber families, living in remote mountain villages, where about 80% of the adult population are illiterate and gaining an academic education - particularly for girls - is mostly considered unnecessary or, in some cases, is desired but out of their reach.
A very basic primary education is provided in outlying villages, but to progress any further, the girls must travel many miles to the nearest secondary school over rough mountain roads. Traveling these distances each day is impossible, financially and logistically. To attend school, the girls must board somewhere in the town from Monday to Saturday, which their parents cannot afford to pay for, not to mention the very real fears they face in sending their 12-year-old daughter away to a strange town.
These obstacles prove too difficult to overcome for a society that is changing very slowly and where traditional roles for young women as wife and mother (with no potential for anything else) are still the norm.
EFA provides boarding houses, so that some of these girls can go to school, at no cost to their parents and in an environment where they may thrive. The need is far greater than what the charity can provide and the girls are selected based on their poverty, distance from school, and their academic potential to ensure that they have the best chance of making the most of their opportunity. Each EFA house is run by a fantastic local housemother and supported by a volunteer program, of which Liz was a part for five incredible months.
The volunteer program brings an important outside perspective to the girls and broadens their education both directly - through English lessons and homework tutoring - and indirectly - through the example set by the independent young women working with them. But it goes both ways.
Liz can't begin to describe what she learned through working with these bright, funny, inquisitive, respectful and hardworking girls. In the same way, Alex's experiences in the Peace Corps went far beyond the practicalities of building a reservoir or completing projects in the Berber community he lived and worked with for over 2 years.
Liz worked at Dar Asni, the first purpose-built EFA house ("dar" means "house" in Berber). At that time, EFA was in its second year of operation and Dar Asni was home to 20 girls from 12 to 18 years old. Some of the girls there came from Alex's village, Tamatert. While Liz was in Morocco, EFA opened a second house in an even more remote location and since then they have opened a third house, with plans for another house in Asni this year, dedicated to girls going on in their studies to high school. Right now, about 90 girls are gaining an education, thanks to EFA.
The charity is yet small, but growing and it has an impact far greater than its perceived size: on the lives of these girls, as well as their families, the communities they come from and, critically, their children.
Educate a girl and you educate the next generation...
Liz and Alex are very grateful to have been well-educated in Britain and America with lifelong access to learning that they sometimes don't even know what to do with! They have so many things already - and what they don't have, they can work towards - thanks to the educations they've been privileged to receive and the fantastic opportunities that has opened up for them.
These girls can only hope that such opportunities will be available to them in their lifetimes. EFA Morocco is working to change this and is a cause very close to Liz and Alex's hearts.
Alex Deans and Liz Toole are getting married on October 26, 2011.
It is their heartfelt wish that you consider giving some or all of what you might spend on a wedding gift to EFA Morocco.
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and, if you are a UK taxpayer, they'll make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation.
Please see www.efamorocco.org for further details about the work of Education for All in Morocco.
