Reconnaissance Trip February 2009

 

The much anticipated Reconnaissance Trip to the Rif Mountains to identify urgent needs of the area and research existing projects and local associations, took place at the beginning of February, and proved to be an enormously fruitful visit.

After two false starts due to gales and tornado warnings, the morning of Saturday 7th February finally saw the RifCom Needs Assessment Team crossing the Straits, negotiating the tortuous Ceuta/Moroccan border and diving into the realm of contrasts which is Morocco.

 

The breathtaking town of Chefchaouen, deep in the heart of the Rif Mountains, welcomes visitors with an array of blue wash homes, rich spice fragrances, haunting sounds of call to prayer and the bustle of daily local life which assaults the senses and verifies you have arrived in another world. As the team consisted of four seasoned Chefchaouen visitors, sightseeing was least in their thoughts as they outlined their task for the trip in the face of rain, cold and snow-capped mountains.

 

The three main objectives of the team were to outline the most urgent needs of the Rif Mountain communities outside of Chefchaouen, to make contact with existing local organisations and finally to establish a fund raising challenge event to take place later this year in June. All three objectives proved difficult to achieve at first. Language and cultural differences played a big part in mis-interpretations and highlighted again the importance of establishing a Moroccan Ground Team which understands RifCom’s mission. However, slowly the team made progress by meeting with key local organisations such as the Initiative Nationale pour le Development Humain, a group of local professionals and businessmen who among other things, support a project which focuses on the blind of the region and runs a weaving shop in the centre of Chefchaouen where almost all the workers are blind, weaving and sewing by touch alone.

 

The Orphanage of Chefchaouen, Casa De Los Niños, also proved a good source of information. The Orphanage houses many children from the surrounding mountain areas whose families can no longer support them due to loss of parents or family struggles. The team also paid a visit to the Associacion de Akchour, an association based in the mountain village of Akchour, and with foreign assistance the association have managed a few successful projects in the area, one being the construction of a small building which houses the local Women’s Association and concentrates on weaving clothes and blankets for local communities.

 

Probably the most informative source of information the team came across was the local business sector where a few businessmen are regularly exposed to foreigners and the world outside the region. With good communication between these individuals and the team, valuable information regarding the needs of the mountain communities was readily extracted. Armed with this information together with newly and re-established local contacts for the Moroccan Ground Team and enough suggestions for challenge events the team was able to come away with a Distinct Projects List and a viable Fundraising Challenge Event to be held in Chefchaouen and the Rif Mountains in June.

 

Click here for more information on the June Fundraising Challenge Event!!!