Tour Morocco with MEDA and TourMagination

MEDA in Morocco:
Mar 25-Apr 5, 2011

Join Bob Kroeker of MEDA and Audrey Voth Petkau of TourMagination to visit Morocco - a country of legends where vibrant cultures and faiths meet and ancient history is preserved.

See how MEDA's YouthInvest program is helping thousands of youth find new hope and peace.

• Watch this video for more details, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpLW120e_NU
• Visit tourmagination.com, or
  
• Call 1-800-565-0451

Moroccan youth learn, earn through YouthInvest training

Young people in Morocco are starting to realize their hopes and dreams through MEDA’s YouthInvest program. In one year, 1,480 youth have completed the program’s 100 Hours to Success, which provides training in life skills, financial skills and entrepreneurship. Another 700 are now enrolled in the program.

A recent survey of participants shows youth are beginning to understand the importance of savings. Half plan to use their savings to start or grow a business, buy equipment or further their education. More are now working, income levels have started to increase, and they’re better prepared to enter the workforce. They’ve become more employable, and more conscientious.

Survey highlights:

• 96% now have a savings account, vs. 19% before entering the program
• 75% would not have opened an account were it not for the program
• 25% of program youth are now involved in apprenticeships
• 170 youth have accessed loans, with an average loan of $1,300
• Family, friends, teachers and employers have noticed positive changes in attitudes and behaviors
• 90% report the program has helped them move toward reaching their goals
• 100% would recommend the program to a friend
• 25% are now working, vs. 13% before entering the program
• 15% increase in incomes since entering program

Want to witness MEDA’s impact for yourself? Join Bob Kroeker of MEDA and Audrey Voth Petkau of TourMagination for a MEDA in Morocco tour Mar 25 to Apr 5, 2011! Visit http://www.tourmagination.com/ for details or call 1-800-565-0451.

For more stories from MEDA’s YouthInvest project, go to http://www.100hours.meda.org/

Building confidence – times 2!

Abdessamad and El Mahjoub, 23-year old twins, are single students. They live in Ouarzazate, a small town in the southeast of Morocco.

They heard about MEDA's 100 Hours to Success training program through outreach sessions led by trainers from MEDA partner AESD.

Before the training program, Abdessamad, left, lacked self confidence. He preferred solitude to avoid the mocking eyes of his classmates, and he could not handle his emotions. El Mahjoub was also pessimistic and aggressive.

The two brothers work as photographers for wedding parties each summer to help finance their education, but they couldn't keep customers as they didn’t know how to behave with them.

Now after the training program, Abdessamad is more self confident and easily makes friends in class; he also is less obstinate than before. El Mahjoub also has changed: He can manage his money, and has opened a savings account because he knows the benefits of having savings.

Both are now satisfied about themselves. Their parents are proud of them, and their teachers say they have noticed an increase in their self confidence and an improvement in their grades.

El Mahjoub and Abdessamad plan to start a small business – a photography lab, and they are producing a video on early marriage of girls in their town.

Surveys will show client impact

Leah Katerberg of MEDA was recently in Morocco for the annual survey of YouthInvest clients and partners.

The survey will help us measure the impact of our work with youth through the program. We'll share highlights of our findings at a later date.

"This picture," reports Leah, "is of the Kasbah Taourirt in Ouarzazate, constructed in the 19th century. Kasbahs were originally built as fortified towns and now represent the 'old' part of many modern Moroccan cities."

The Taourirt Kasbah was owned by the el Glaoui clan, which controlled a major caravan route to West Africa. The kasbah, located at a strategic junction of the caravan routes, was highly important during the 1930s, when the el Glaoui powers were at their peak. The palace has close to 300 rooms and more than 20 riads, or gardens.

Learning about Moroccan tea culture

This week's guest blog is from Jennifer Harley of MEDA Financial Services, who recently returned from Morocco.

Morocco is well known for its dramatic landscapes and delectable food offerings. But Moroccans are perhaps under-recognized for their deep appreciation for tea. Chinese green tea is a staple of Moroccan culture.

The preparation, sharing and drinking of tea in all regions of the country has, over the past 200 years, become a tradition turned art form. Morocco is cited as being the first country ever to import to Chinese green tea and is now one of the biggest importers in the world.

The most exciting part of the tea ceremony is the pour – in fact, the repeated pouring. In order to aerate the tea, the tea maker will pour a full glass holding the pot several inches in the air and then pour the glass back into the pot. (Watch my video here: http://zook.ca/morocco/ )

This method produces a sort of bubbly foam on the top of the tea and ensures that the sugar is thoroughly mixed. Finally, everyone drinks. The show is so captivating that one hardly notices the wait.

YouthInvest by the numbers

MEDA's YouthInvest project is making great progress in reaching out to unemployed youth in Morocco, reports project manager Jennifer Denomy, who is currently on a two-week field visit to Morocco.

For instance, youth are being encouraged to begin saving for their future. To date, 587 youth savings accounts have been opened with MEDA's partner financial institutions.

And MEDA is reaching out to many more youth with its 100 Hours to Success training program as it continues to scale up. Currently, 1,309 youth are enrolled in training and 554 have completed courses.

Partner financial institutions are piloting youth loan projects. Interested clients participate in eight hours of training, then apply for a loan to start or build a small business for themselves. The average loan size is 8,000 Moroccan Dirhams, or about $900.

MEDA is getting the word out about YouthInvest through awareness-raising sessions in high schools, youth centers and community centers to attract young people to the training.

A current priority is to expand YouthInvest to Egypt, and MEDA is finalizing partnership agreements with local banking institutions and NGOs. Recent research, including focus groups with youth, parents and community leaders and partners, will ensure that the program is tailored to the particular needs of the Egyptian community.

Watch this space for reports from the field!

Aziz grows his business

His name is Aziz. Single and 22 years old, he is from Boumia, a small village in the Middle Atlas region of Morocco. Aziz lives with his family of nine: his father, who is a bricklayer, his mother, an older sister who is divorced, his nephew, twin brother, sister-in-law and two younger brothers who are still in school.

Aziz was still in primary school when he abandoned his studies to join the working world. Last year he became a shopkeeper, renting a small store for 250 dirham (Dh) – about $30 a month. He sells candies and roasted peas – a business known in Morocco as a taguellaite. With a monthly net income of 1000 Dh, Aziz contributes up to 700 Dh to help support his family and keeps 300 Dh as an allowance for himself.

But Aziz wanted to expand his business, so he went to AMOS (Association Microfinance Oued Srou), which in partnership with MEDA has developed a loan product for youth. Despite his youth, his single status and lack of credit history, Aziz was able to contract a loan of 3000 Dhs with a 12-month term – without having to provide a promissory note as a guarantee.

Thanks to this new financial product, Aziz and other young Moroccans will be able to see hope for prosperity in their future.

Welcome!

You’ve come to our new blog for YouthInvest – MEDA’s program to help jobless youth in Morocco and Egypt create sustainable livelihoods.

I hope you’ll visit us regularly here. We’ll post new entries each week, and you’ll meet the dedicated people involved in YouthInvest. Our field project manager, Adil Sadoq, will share regular updates from Morocco. You’ll hear from staff members in Morocco, Egypt, and here in North America. And we hope to encourage a few of the youth who are enrolled in 100 Hours to Success to introduce themselves and tell you about their plans for starting small businesses.

I think you’ll be inspired by what everyone has to say. The level of commitment by youth, MEDA partners and MEDA staff is remarkable. Last August, when I traveled to Morocco, I visited a microfinance institution that is partnering with us to develop youth-friendly products. I saw loan officers going out on foot, in incredible heat, to visit clients. They were working without the sophisticated financial tools – the laptops, the spreadsheets and so on – that you and I take for granted. That’s what people are doing on the ground to make YouthInvest happen.

Visit often to find out more.

Allan Sauder