Sami's Project will plant 5,000 fruit and nut trees with young children in 96 participating Moroccan schools and villages. HAF's staff along with local teachers and community leaders will discuss with students the social and environmental benefits of tree planting, raising awareness of their value. By providing environmental skills and knowledge to rural school children, they are empowered to protect their local environment and improve their livelihoods.

Challenge

Rural Morocco is challenged by drought, erosion and desertification. Morocco's subsistence farming coupled with a weak structural processing capacity continues to reduce entrepreneurial capital and thwart human development. This initiative enables children to experience at a young age that they can make a difference. Inspired by Sami, whose short life of struggle against cancer and his love of the outdoors is now empowering so many children to become generative adults as environmental stewards.

Long-Term Impact

Empowering young people from subsistence agricultural families to understand the value of modern arboriculture that is environmentally friendly allows them to break the cycle of poverty and achieve integrated benefits: doubling (on average) household incomes, diversifying the economy and diets, strengthening the local environment, building technical skills, and establishing democratic processes.

References

1. http://www.highatlasfoundation.org/
2. https://highatlasfoundation.org/project/samis-project-for-youth-and-schools/
3. https://highatlasfoundation.org/morocco-provides-safe-spaces-for-youth/
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoQ__bwWlpc&feature=emb_logo
5. https://highatlasfoundation.org/hafs-annual-report-2018/

Additional Documentation

https://www.globalgiving.org//pfil/8783/projdoc.pdf

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