ESC_TEAMS in Morocco_Greening_VT_Project Proposal

Greening Child Care Center

"Youth and Intergenerational Solidarity" takes up the motto of the European Year of Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generation

Hosting Organization: MamAfrika Organization (Morocco),
Type of the Project: Volunteering of Team under (ESC),
Duration: 60 day (Starting from July through the end of August)
Number of participants: Max 40 participants
Location: Casablanca

*Context and Objectives*:

Underserved children in child care centers in Casablanca face a growing concern for environmental sustainability, and establishing green child care centers has become increasingly important for them. Because children spend a significant amount of time in these centers, the environment can seriously impact their health and well-being by creating eco-friendly spaces for disadvantaged kids. Starting a green child care center can be a challenging but rewarding undertaking. Childcare centers often lack the budget for innovation. For example, in Morocco, childcare centers are typically underfunded by the government, leaving many centers to rely on private funding or donations to operate. This can make it difficult for childcare centers to secure the necessary funding for renovation. Many childcare centers in Casablanca prioritize immediate needs such as staffing, food, and supplies over long-term investments in renovation.

MamAfrika organization supports children with fewer opportunities by engaging international volunteers to share their expertise and knowledge in fields such as sustainable environment, gardening, planting trees, painting walls, and taking care of plants, which can help local child care centers adopt more eco-friendly spaces.

The commitment of volunteers in renovating child care centers in Casablanca can provide several benefits for children with fewer opportunities. MamAfrika organization and volunteers work hand in hand to create a greener, more sustainable child care center that is healthier and more engaging for children, which can improve their educational outcomes and well-being.

This initiative can bring a different perspective to the child care center and expose disadvantaged children to new cultures, languages, and ideas, which can broaden their worldviews and expand their opportunities. Volunteers will create green spaces, such as a rooftop garden or outdoor play area, painting abandoned walls to provide children with opportunities to connect with nature and learn about sustainable practices. Because childcare centers have limited resources to maintain and update every area of the facility, some areas in the center are being neglected or abandoned, and with the help of the volunteers and staff members of the childcare center, they can help in maintaining and updating all areas of the center by sharing the knowledge and skills to do so.

MamAfrika Organization works tirelessly to serve children with fewer opportunities who reside in childcare centers in Casablanca and face socio-economic challenges. In particular, the poorer areas of the center, where children often spend time. The childcare center works for hundreds of abandoned children who face an urgent need to improve their childcare center facilities. The volunteers will make a positive impact by looking after the neglected gardens and abandoned areas of the centers, where the children can enjoy outdoor activities like playing together, reading, and so on.

While greening the childcare center with the support of the MaAfrika organization, volunteers will expose themselves to cultural activities such as cooking classes, visits to local museums and landmarks, and learning small phrases in Arabic to help them engage in the community. Beyond these activities, volunteers may participate in community events such as festivals or neighborhood painting and greening-up days to help them feel more connected to the local community and promote the European Solidarity Corps initiative.

*Description of the Activity*

The volunteers will be responsible for gardening and painting wall activities that aim to transform unused or neglected spaces within the childcare centers to turn center yards into vibrant, sustainable gardens. This initiative will involve Moroccan youth and international volunteers, with the help of the local community, in creating green spaces that not only beautify the childcare space but also serve as a healthy living place for disadvantaged children.

Volunteers will work together in teams to complete gardening and painting projects to foster a commitment to collaboration when spending time painting and beautifying neglected areas of the child care center. Before embarking on painting or gardening projects, the staff of the MamAfrika Organization will provide training and guidance to volunteers from local experts to ensure that the work is done safely and effectively. While undertaking this project, volunteers and the local staff of childcare centers will track the progress on gardening and painting before and after by taking photos to document their positive impact on the childcare centers.

While volunteering, participants should respect the local culture and customs of Morocco and be sensitive to any cultural or religious norms that may be challenging from their own. We highly encourage volunteers to provide feedback on their experience to ensure that they are comfortable and enjoying their time while volunteering.

The volunteers will do the planting and guide children through the planting process, teaching them how to plant small trees. Each child will be assigned a section of the garden to look after, fostering a sense of ownership and responsibility. Watering plants is a part of the gardening process. Volunteers will work closely with disadvantaged children about water conservation methods when looking after abandoned yards to maintain the garden. Each day, children will take turns watering the garden with the help of the volunteers. Regarding painting, volunteers should clean the walls and remove dirt or peeling paint to create a smooth surface and make a rich, engaging experience to make childcare centers brighter and healthier.

After the activity is completed, the MamAfrika Organization and volunteers will organize Garden Day celebrations to celebrate the volunteers' success. A “Garden Day” event will be organized with volunteers and children who will come together to share the produce, host small workshops about gardening, and reflect on the project's environmental benefits.

Through their involvement in the childcare center project, volunteers will learn a variety of valuable skills and experiences. They will also gain a deeper understanding of Moroccan culture and customs, which can help them be more effective global citizens. Volunteers will work together in teams to complete projects, developing their ability to collaborate and communicate effectively.
Our staff helps volunteers experience new lifestyles, try new food, explore new places, and meet new people. Meanwhile, we introduce them to social and cultural projects related to community service. Throughout their participation in Morocco, our volunteers certainly engage in cultural and social events. Volunteers will help children and youth with fewer opportunities, while others reach out to hard-reach communities, sharing smiles and knowledge with them. We welcome volunteers to participate in our childcare center and support disadvantaged children in Casablanca. This program doesn't require any specific skills. We welcome everyone because each individual is willing to experience diversity at various levels. Therefore, we hope our volunteers will help these orphaned children and be open to other cultures and languages.

*Aims and objectives*:

The project aims to paint walls and look after neglected gardens in childcare centers, which include several key objectives, all of which contribute to the overall well-being of disadvantaged children, the community, and the environment. Our primary goal of the activities is to encourage volunteers and local staff to paint the neglected walls and abandoned yards. The volunteers aim to create a green space for hard-reach childcare centers in Casablanca to maintain green spaces that have been abandoned for so long. The volunteers will have to maintain a garden and colorful walls to create a calming and nurturing atmosphere for underprivileged children, enhancing their overall mental well-being. During the activity, volunteers should also create community involvement between children, and local community members through gardening and mural painting to foster a sense of community and collaboration through teamwork and responsibility for the childcare center environment to promote social cohesion and partnerships where possible.

MamAfrika Organization and volunteers will focus on neglected areas where the project aims to combat feelings of social exclusion and neglect that can affect children's mental health and well-being and to enable children who are at risk of having a lack of motivation and engagement

in the community. Volunteers should take the initiative to create green spaces. This proactive approach can help foster a positive space culture where children can thrive and move forward.

Paint the childcare center for basic maintenance purposes creatively to bring life into it.
Painting and beautification of neglected areas
“Green activities”: Help create green spaces, by planting trees and weddings.
Assisting with playground maintenance and repair.
Promoting Environmental Awareness
Collaborative paintings
Cultural immersion and exploration of local community
Community engagement

The volunteers will undertake this project to serve disadvantaged children. The volunteers would, therefore, contribute by offering a unique opportunity through the greening and beautifying of childcare centers to transform healthy environments in underserved areas of the center. This way, it will not only make the physical space where children thrive better but also help them attach to the space around them more closely.

The tasks of the volunteer :

Assess the areas of the childcare center for suitable gardening.
Guide children in planting seeds and young plants.
Organizing workshops on sustainable gardening techniques.
Organizing animation artistic and sports activities related to the environment
Participate in the "Garden Day" celebration through environmental workshops
Help prepare walls for painting
Helping to assist children in painting
Supervise the youth throughout the painting process.

Volunteering Schedule:

The volunteer will work full-time and have two days off per week. The two days off will be decided in advance between the volunteer and the coordinator.

Accommodation:

The volunteers will live in the childcare center on shared premises with other volunteers. The organization will provide food for volunteers in the center during the whole period. We highly encourage participants to be sociable and open-minded for effective communication.

About the Location:

Casablanca, in Arabic Dar El Baida, is the biggest city in Morocco and actually in the Maghreb region. It is the economic and business center of Morocco. Casablanca is one of the most important cities in Africa, demographically and economically, being one of the largest financial centers in the continent. Its port is one of the largest artificial ports in the world and the primary naval base of the Moroccan Navy.

Completed in 1993 after many years in construction, the Hassan II Mosque is among Africa's largest, with one of the world's tallest minarets to boot. Thanks to its location on the waterfront, and the laser atop the minaret that beams toward Mecca, it’s one of Morocco's most striking buildings. It’s also one of the few mosques that permit non-Muslim visitors into its halls.

Casablanca’s central market is small and manageable. White-walled stalls with green clay tile roofs dotted with foliage make for all the Instagrammable backgrounds you’ll ever need. Vendors

sell produce, nuts and dates, and argan oil - the traditional Moroccan elixir for most everything. Linger long enough and eventually you will see the vendors line up for the call to prayer, and then join them in a quick tagine lunch, served at outdoor tables.

The Aïn-Diab coast, the seaside annex of the city, is the traditional spot for inhabitants of Casablanca going out for the evening, especially at weekends. Trendy restaurants and popular pubs abound along the seafront. Some of these establishments, with or without seawater swimming pools, have been there since the thirties, like an unusual restaurant built on piles.