How it all started

The Moustaqbel Foundation was founded by Hanneke Ouwehand-van Hooff in 2016. Beforehand she had volunteered in three different boarding houses, for female high school pupils in the High Atlas mountains. There she saw the need from up close: “These girls would not be in school without these initiatives.”

The experience inspired Hanneke to think about what these girls could accomplish if they were given the chance to pursue further education. With the opportunity to live in Dar Moustaqbel they can now fully focus on their studies and future professional lives.

Dar Moustaqbel junior

Behind a green door in the medina of Marrakech, fifty-five girls live together in a student residence, while pursuing further education at the institute of their choice. Dar Moustaqbel is a social impact student housing project. Living here enables young disadvantaged girls to fully focus on their studies. Our study hall is occupied seven days and evenings a week. Hundreds of hours of in-house French and English classes every year.

Besides professional language education, we offer tutors for subjects as statistics and bookkeeping, a computer skills course, weekly yoga classes, cycling, and inspiring encounters with scientists, entrepreneurs, teachers and students. Dar Moustaqbel has noticed the enormous positive effects on exam results of offering students extra tutoring. In the past few years we have been extending these efforts.

Our house rules reflect the importance of rigor and good habits. The use of mobile phones, for example, is restricted. Students take turns cooking, cleaning and washing for all, creating responsibility and training practical skills while maximising the time each of them spends on their education.

Dar Moustaqbel Masterhouse

Strategically located in between several university faculties, our Masterhouse is the logical sequel to Dar Moustaqbel in the old medina of Marrakech. Twenty-five advanced students following a master or doing an internship after having obtained their diploma, live here in relative autonomy. Some are in search of their first real job.

They sleep, eat, study and participate in in-house lessons and activities. The activities program for these students is adapted to their situation, with for example a course named “Finding a job is a job” and advanced language lessons with a focus on professional language use.

Goal of our Masterhouse Dar Moustaqbel Issil is to provide our students with the possibility to continue their educational career or search for a job or an internship after having obtained a diploma in further education. Why? Because many students risk returning to their home villages without the chance of finding a job, simply because they cannot afford staying in the city.

The selection process is very strict. Only students with a good plan and a track record that proves their commitment to their careers, in addition to a weak financial position, are selected. That may be a student with a BA that has all the capacities needed to obtain a master diploma, a former student that is preparing to pass a state exam to become a tenured high school teacher or successful former students who want to strengthen their starting position on the job market by doing a longterm internship.

Accomplished

Dar Moustaqbel has grown into a remarkable home with a strong culture of solidarity, curiosity, knowledge, opportunities, and social skills. Our professional team supports the students in various ways. Our teachers provide high-quality education to disadvantaged young women, creating opportunities to catch up on learning gaps and develop important skills. This demonstrably improves their chances in the job market. These efforts have borne fruit.

INFOGRAPHIC
50 graduates
43 graduates in well-paid jobs
20 students pursuing a master's degree

An evaluation of the satisfaction level and development of our students was conducted by sociologist Béatrice Lecestre-Rollier from the University of Paris: "All students are extremely satisfied with their home, and each student firmly believes that her skills have significantly improved thanks to Dar Moustaqbel." LA CARAVANE DE L’ORIENTATION In this project, our students visit schools and boarding houses in the disadvantaged southern regions of Morocco. Young people nearing the end of high school receive the information they need to choose their future educational path. Our students have visited numerous villages, from Tata to Taroudant and from Iznaguen to Smimou, reaching thousands of young people.

Our students develop new skills and share their experiences with pupils who often have no idea which study choice would be suitable for them. They can now make a well-informed decision. So far, we have reached almost 3000 high school students with our Caravane de l'Orientation. Each year, our students set out to reach as many pupils as possible and help them prepare for one of the most important choices in their lives.