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May 25, 2017

‘My dream is to do a phd in physics, but that takes eight years and I cannot wait that long before I start earning money’, says the girl, trying to keep her emotions in check. Her body and mind seem to want to cry, but instead she trembles. ‘I have to help my family.’ (more…)

May 19, 2017

Cycling all the way to Oukaïmeden and back. With a shocking altitude gain of 2129 meters. ‘We don’t know whether we will make it, but the least we can do is try’, say Zahira, Zineb and Hafsa. (more…)

May 10, 2017

‘Careful your phone doesn’t get wet’, says Zahra Ait Boumessaoud, while striking a pose in front of a giant African mask spouting a huge water mist from its mouth. ‘It’s you that’s getting sprayed’, laughs Mounia Ben Ali while snapping several images. (more…)

April 23, 2017

Some girls have been crying for hours, others feel relief and some are simply happy. After weeks if not months of uncertainty and fearfulness, the final results of the first trimester are in.  (more…)

March 30, 2017

‘Make your body big and full. Soften your shoulders, open your chest, and breathe deep.’ The girls look somewhat surprised and are trying hard to execute the teachers orders – without bursting into laughter. (more…)

March 9, 2017

Silence has been sacred lately in Riad Moustaqbel. All the girls are studying hard for their exams. Not an easy task, as it’s their first year at university and they have still got to get used to the massive number of fellow students and the distant behavior of their professors. (more…)

March 8, 2017

Wonder what the girls of Riad Moustaqbel have been doing on International Women’s Day? Our physics students have already finished most of their exams while those studying other subjects still have a lot of work to do. So there was no question about it: those who had spare time dedicated themselves to preparing dinner. They were returning the favor, recently it was the other way around. (more…)

February 6, 2017

‘Careful! I am going to crash’, screams Hayat who is heading fast and furiously into the crowd on the corner of the square. Traffic in Marrakech is notoriously crazy. Especially the mopeds, who abide by no rule whatsoever, cause a lot of distress on the road. Car drivers are no exception. The bigger the car, the more reckless the driver. (more…)

January 31, 2017

No more demolition work or new walls being built. The renovation of Riad Moustaqbel has quickly progressed. The basic constructions are as good as finished and the finishing touches are programmed in the next two weeks. Every month Hanneke Ouwehand-Van Hooff has a communal tajine, a stew, with the construction workers to thank them for their hard work. It is a Moroccan tradition to honor construction workers this way. (more…)

January 21, 2017

Soaking wet and shivering from the cold the parents of the girls of Riad Moustaqbel come trickling in. It isn’t the best of days to travel from the isolated mountain villages, where it freezes and snows, to a rainy Marrakech. It was a long trip, but they are clearly happy to be here. (more…)