By Ouafa Elbargui | Project Coordinator
May 2012 Updates
The partnership agreement between HAF and the provincial Director of National Education in Tahanaout states that the HAF will provide 500 trees to benefit five schools — one situated in the territory of Tahanaout municipality and the other four schools in Ouirgane rural commune. After finishing with the first school in Tahanaout (named Alkairaouane), the HAF resumed the tree planting at the other four schools in Ouirgane commune:
April 24, 2012 Sami’s Project resumption, Tassa Ouirgan, Ouirgane and Tororde elementary schools and Ouirgane Middle school, Ouirgane rural commune, Al Haouz Province.
On April 24th, the tree planting was started at schools,Ouirgane, Al Haouz Province. HAF’s project team, Students, teachers and managers of the schools accompanied with some members of students Parents association and some villagers participated together in planting 400 trees. The HAF’s staff explained and introduced the Sami’s project and HAF’s work to the school children, while the teachers made the students aware about the importance of the tree and the different benefits we get from it. The professional farmers of each school community showed the students how to dig the holes and how to plant in their school yards. The HAF’s project team spent three days planting with four schools in Ouirgane. Personally, as a HAF’s project coordinator, I enjoyed the three days of sharing with these students – girls and boys from different ages and grades – the inspiring beautiful moments of tree planting. I kept observing passionately the joy and glory shining from their eyes while holding each tree and removing the black plastic carefully from its roots to the ending moment when they put it firmly into the hole and covered its roots with soil.
April 24, 2012: Tree planting at Tassa Ouirgane school.
There are 70 students studying at this small elementary school; around 10 trees were planted at the school yard but no tree was planted in the outside space of school because the parents of the students and the school staff assured that the outside is not protective for the tree planting. In view of the narrow space at school, the HAF’s project team distributed the rest of trees to all of the students to plant them in their family’s orchards. The attached photos display the tree planting and distribution event at Tassa Ouirgane school.
April 24, 2012: Tree planting at Ouirgane elementary school.
This school and that of Tassa Ouirgane were planted simultaneously that’s why I was not able to attend at Ouirgane elementary school during its planting day, about 15 km from Tassa Ouirgane school. There are 200 students studying at this elementary school; around 50 trees were planted at the school yard and alongside the school wall and the rest of the trees were given as a reward to the villagers and parents of students, who took part in digging holes and showing the students how to position and care after a tree; they were given simply to the people who participated eagerly to make this splendid event happen. The school manager and teachers stated that they were very happy and lucky, for their school is one of the selected schools to be planted by the help of HAF. The attached photos display the tree planting and the setting of a fence to protect trees at Ouirgane elementary school.
April 26, 2012: Tree planting at Tororde school.
On 26th of April 2012, at 10:00 am, all the students of Tororde school were gathered wholeheartedly to plant their school yard. Unfortunately, the school manager was not there that day because she had a training in Marrakech. There were about 31 students at school, 14 members of the association of students parents, two teachers and the HAF’s project coordinator all of them worked hand-in-hand; each one from his role to make this day a very interesting day to celebrate the Earth Day. The attached pictures show the enthusiastic atmosphere of the team during tree planting and distribution at Tororde school.May 03, 2012: Tree planting at Ouirgane Middle school.
On the 26th of April, The HAF’s project coordinator took 100 trees to this school. Every school year, the students of this Middle school allocate a day for environment, so this day was timed to coincide with the April tree planting season done by HAF. On the 3rd of May, the school staff and students organized many workshops to celebrate this day in which each group of students carry out its mission to accomplish it by the end of the day. There were three workshops: School cleaning, walls painting, and tree planting. I was with the third group –Tree planting- we spent the whole morning planting trees in some empty spaces mentioned by the manager of school. The group of students feel very satisfied for they had managed to dig holes and plant a lot of trees in their school yard in a successful and skillful way especially when some students tried to make a logical link between their theoretical studies at school about plants, the techniques of tree planting they learnt from their fathers, as most of them are sons of farmers, and the practical exercises they did during that moment of planting. The attached pictures shows the tree planting at Ouirgane Middle school:
Sami’s Project
Sami’s Project strengthens the relationship between these children and their environment. It is by planting a tree in a school yard or in one’s family’s orchard, and by maintaining it and caring deeply about it , these children can appreciate the benefits of this tree, perceive the importance of the environment and life in general; they can also learn how to protect and maintain their Earth as our original mother. This is what was explicitly shown in all of these students actions and deeds when digging holes, and when holding, planting and watering trees; the whole procedure from the beginning to the end is a sort of an interaction between kids and trees, between future and life.
Finally, on behalf of these students and HAF, I’d like to thank a lot the Elkouhen Family, who devote their time and effort to offer these valuable trees to these Moroccan elementary schools in memory of their small child Sami, and I’d like to thank also all the potential donors, who keep contributing their money day after day to make “Sami’s Project :Trees for kids” go on.
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