Innovation

The association DARNA was founded by Mounira Bouzid El Alami, in 1995. The idea of founding her own association came when she settled back in Morocco, after specializing in psychoanalysis in France and spending several years working there. The center first aimed at helping children and women who are victims of precariousness, and providing them with the necessary support and adequate training by educators and sociologists to guarantee their socio-professional integration. It is also a learning center where the beneficiaries learn how to have and manage a stable source of income, and therefore contribute to the promotion of the local and national economy.

Recognized as a public utility, the association has six reception centers. It hosts more than 140 children aged between 8 and 19 years old along with approximately 120 women a day, benefiting from literacy classes and training sessions in trades such as weaving, painting and sewing. DARNA is also a place of life and sharing so as to attempt restoring and enhancing Tangier's intangible heritage. It targets tourists and helps them have “a deeply Moroccan experience” by selling them Moroccan handicrafts as souvenirs and having them eat at its affiliate restaurant. This serves as the main source of revenue for the association.

The association is considered to be a living example of social entrepreneurship in Morocco which makes it unique in itself as projects like this weren't common back in when it was founded.

Inspiration

When it comes to Tangier, her city, or Morocco, her country, Mounira Bouzid el-Alami is unbeatable. It is amazing how she is able to smoothly swing between topics and how she finds the perfect words to voice her thoughts. Left-wing activist, she carries ideas and gets carried away too, usually thinking about new ways to improve daily life to whichever extent. Her free mind has always taken her to unexplored places. That is how DARNA association was created. She has always dreamed of improving Tangier’s socioeconomic situation.

“Living abroad made me feel homesick, I missed everything about my country. As I used to come only in summers, I have always felt that a part of me is left behind once I leave the country”, said Mounira. After coming back to Morocco once and for all, she spent a lot of time looking into the major problems the city of Tangier was facing through conducting anthropological research in different areas. She was also deeply observing and analyzing her surroundings, mainly looking at people suffering from hunger, poverty, and illiteracy. “During my first years in Morocco, I have always been looking for ways that would help the community of Tangier. It is one of the best cities in Morocco with lots and lots of resources that are not properly used. Therefore, I came up with the idea of trying to exploit them in order to benefit the city and its people” states Mounira. She was inspired just by looking at different women performing several tasks such as cooking, cleaning, sewing etc… Women were not the only category she aspired to help. Children have played a major role in the creation of the association as well. “Children for me are the future of this nation, if we work on it, we work on making the world a better place. Personally, I see that they can either make you or break you” said Mounira. Her long term vision pushed her to put children first and work on helping them in order to become future citizens who would lead to the creation of a better Morocco.

Overall impact

The innovation has had a huge impact on the situation of women, girls and youth/children throughout the years. First, more than 120 women are learning, on a daily basis, to read and write, and are having access to trainings that will help them develop greater financial independence. They also benefit from income-generating skills trainings and learn more about their rights in general. That is, the association works on improving the overall situation of these women on many aspects. The literacy classes they’ve been granted the chance to take part of, both in Arabic and French, made these women more knowledgeable, able to read and has led to the increase of their awareness and cognitive skills. Furthermore, the association has opened several doors to its beneficiaries, giving them the opportunity to work in different sectors such as traditional weaving, embroidery, pastry shop, and catering services.

Additionally, the association has also impacted the situation of young girls, especially those from rural or remote areas. Usually, these girls would not have access to financial security, housing, or favorable circumstances to move forward with their lives. DARNA works on supporting and motivating these girls. It encourages them to proceed with their education and provides them with a safe and friendly living environment which helps with raising their self esteem and confidence. The association also works on turning them into strong women by passing down values such as rationality, self fulfilment and generosity. Furthermore, more than 160 teenagers receive, since 2000, a training of their choice (carpentry, ironwork, bakery, etc.) as to ease their entrance to the job market.

The final segment to be impacted by this association is youth. The association believes that it is vital to provide a space where young people can meet friends and discover their talents and potential. The NGO started with a reception center for street children. Then it restored a palace near the Kasbah of Tangier, where a Community House was installed. At the youth center, books, magazines, musical instruments, workshops and machinery, materials recycling, scrap, wood waste, paper and cardboard are provided. These are all used according to the association’s focus on helping children to imagine, realize, experiment, cope, and build confidence. Young people are welcomed outside school time – they bring their homework and are supported to develop a life plan.

Business benefit

The association has started small, and only benefited from the help of few people who were committed to social improvement. Today, DARNA Maroc has more than 50 employees, the thing that reflects the perseverance of its founder Mounira.

As mentioned previously, DARNA works on providing tourists with a very rich Moroccan experience. Be it by selling them handicrafts or offering them Moroccan dishes, the association uses this as one of its main revenue streams. In addition, the restaurant held by the association is open to the public. Part of the revenues are given to the cooking ladies, waitresses, etc, and the other part is used to manage the association’s operations.

More recently, the DARNA team has created, near Cape Spartel, a "teaching farm" which introduces young people to agricultural activities, as a way of integrating these people, the majority of whom have experienced drugs, theft, begging or prostitution. Educators teach them how to care for fruit trees, grow vegetables, raise animals, produce honey and make cheese. The products are sold to visitors.

The National Initiative for Human Development (INDH), a governmental procedure, is an important source of financing for DARNA Maroc as it financed one of its major projects. Last year, Mounira joined the local project selection committee of INDH. "I am a fan of harassment," she says. I ask political, economic and social actors to do their job. The association has now taken interest in difficult neighborhoods, to fight drug trafficking more effectively, to break the informal work that is causing the ruin of local societies, and to destroy buildings that are built on soft ground.

Social and environmental benefit

Violence and aggression are evils that find in marginalization, frustration and injustice a fertile ground for expansion and exacerbation. Thus, it is necessary to help people suffering from precariousness and to transform their negative behaviors into a positive energy. DARNA Maroc is doing so by involving this positive energy in sports and artistic activities, including theater, singing, dancing, music and painting. The association has also been promoting the integration of disadvantaged people, especially young people and women, into active, professional and social life. This commendable initiative is a model to follow and a reference for the younger generations on the importance of this kind of citizen actions and their decisive role in the support and accompaniment of the poor and those in difficult situations. It aims at building a society based on solidarity and where the values of altruism and social cohesion prevail.

Interview

Mounira Bouzid El-alami, Founder