Visits to Taroudannt provide members of our London-based team with crucial insight into the work being undertaken by the team at Centre Amane, both the challenges of the context and our successes on the ground. Physical proximity to and hands-on experience in the projects are really important in helping us to better support our Moroccan colleagues in their day-to-day work with vulnerable children and their families.
In early January, two members of our London team – Jenny (UK street child project coordinator) and Steph (Fundraising and Marketing intern) – headed over to Taroudannt to spend some quality time working alongside the in-country team. Find out what they got up to below:
Jenny
During this, my third working visit to Taroudannt, I focused on supporting the team with a series of strategy meetings during which we went back to basics to discuss our vision and aims for the children who benefit from Centre Amane’s services. Building on those initial discussions, representatives of each service then came together to create a framework for monitoring and evaluating what we have to offer and its impact. Alongside this work, I met repeatedly with the social work team to begin drafting a new social work manual: a collaboratively designed guide for undertaking social work in Taroudannt which will also include lots of best practice guidance that can be transferred to other contexts. Sharing learning and expertise gained in different settings, not to mention lots of different points of view, was central to both of these pieces of work which were enthusiastically and vociferously engaged upon by all involved. Although I am no longer in Taroudannt, many of the conversations kindled continue from afar and I feel confident that the foundations laid during my visit will lead to some very exciting developments in our work in the year to come.
Steph
My visit to Taroudannt was very exciting, as it was my first opportunity to meet the whole Moroccan team face to face and see the work I am supporting from our London office on a daily basis. As Marketing and Fundraising Intern I focused on creating digital marketing materials and took a lot of video footage throughout my 2-week trip, with the aim of creating a fundraising video about MCT’s work and a separate video for national and international volunteer recruitment. Personal interviews with staff, volunteers and young people who attend Centre Amaneme allowed me to find out more about MCT’s work, future plans and personal motivations for volunteering with the charity. This deeper understanding will be invaluable for effective fundraising and marketing back in the UK, as it will enable me connect people from the UK with the work happening in Morocco in an easier understandable way.
