Field Train Students, CSOs & Officials in Morocco

Since March of 2015, the Legal Aid Program (LAP) has continued to achieve and exceed identified goals and objectives. Specifically, LAP has continued conducting weekly workshops, attended by the 46 CSO activists and 28 University Students. Additionally, the Advocacy Training Module was successfully completed and the team has started teaching the Communal Development Planning Training Module.

Fatna Sakni’s story is an example of one of the many benificiaries that has effectively implemented their training through LAP. Sakni, president of the Association Initiative and Citizenship, has been very successful in her advocacy efforts. Particularly in influencing the governor and Ain Harrouda community council decisions related to supporting and promoting small enterprises for women. Through her work with HAF, she was able to create a network of women’s groups interested in creating their own enterprises and cooperatives. Sakni took a leading role during meetings with the governor, the delegate of National Welfare and cooperatives and the elected community council. As a result, National Initiative for Human Development (INDH) funding was approved to create three cooperatives employing a gourd of 95 women.

Moreover, participating CSO’s have effectively established programs and secured competitive funding resources for their projects. Since the last report:

1. 13 CSOs developed and implemented effective advocacy strategies related to improving elementary education for slum communities.
2. Seven CSOs presented and discussed project proposals during meetings with provincial INDH committees. Among them, five CSO’s secured funding for community identified projects to benefit over 300 community members.
3. 12 CSOs coordinated advocacy efforts to influence the national debate on the revised criminal laws.

We see that participating CSOs are organizing themselves into two major coalitions and have started developing a proposed communal development plan.  This plan will be submitted to the future elected community council. With the communal elections coming up in September of 2015, CSOs are also preparing an advocacy strategy to ensure a participatory process that may convey the main priorities of the upcoming communal development plan. 

The Legal Aid Program (LAP) was created as a collaborative effort between the High Atlas Foundation (HAF) and the Hasan II University in Mohamedia. Since it’s inception in 2014, LAP has continued to assist CSO activists and marginalized populations gain the knowledge and skills to necessary to identify issues and design sustainable solutions through self-initiated development projects and active contribution to local and national policy reform process. The key objectives of LAP have been to increase democratic participation of Civil Service Organizations (CSO) in policy reforms, build CSO’s capacity to implement and monitor projects and promote good governance.