By: Blonde One
For me the best part of any World Challenge adventure is the phase that lets us get involved with the local community. The community are very much in charge of what they want and how it should be, and the team are there purely to help them achieve that goal.
This time we were fortunate to be allowed to help with a project overseen by the Ahlan Association. The Association works with various schools and colleges in the Taroudant area of Morocco, including the Ecole Valadior de Coiffure that we worked with.
Our team raised their own funds in order to help the project along and the meeting with the Association President revealed what they could help with. Our team were pleased to be able to help with floor tiling, furniture and plumbing. It was hard work! Cement mixing by hand was by far the hardest job, and we all took a turn to get those biceps working. The near 40 degree heat did not help and we could quite see why there was a ceiling fan on the list of requirements!
The school aims to improve employability in the local area by giving young men barbering and hairdressing skills. Several days a week the school devotes its teaching to students with special needs. Our host, Rachid, took great pleasure in relaying a story of one young man who took a full 4 years to complete the one year course, then going onto opening his own barber shop. Rachid was obviously immensely proud of this young man and all that he had struggled to achieve.
After a few short days we had tiled 4 floors, taken out a squat toilet and replaced it with a western one, and provided several pieces of essential furniture including a ceiling fan. A very successful project!