Phl Embassy donates to quake-hit Moroccan students

The Philippine Embassy in Morocco handed over a donation of 18,000 Moroccan dirhams (approximately US$1,800) to Education For All (EFA), a Moroccan non-government organization.

In a ceremonial turnover held at the Chancery over the weekend, Philippine Ambassador to Morocco Leslie Baja said the donation is a gesture of the Philippines’ solidarity with the victims of the September 2023 earthquake in Morocco, as well as support for the beneficiaries of the EFA association.

The EFA has been providing financial support and housing for girls from the rural areas of the High Atlas mountain region to enable them to continue their secondary education since 2007. 

Before the earthquake, EFA had six buildings in the High Atlas Mountains, serving as dormitories for Moroccan girls attending secondary schools.

Unfortunately, the earthquake destroyed five of these buildings.

The Philippine Embassy’s donation was part of the proceeds from sales of 18 artworks that were featured in the Viaje 3 Filipinism What Makes Art Filipino exhibition held at the Abla Ababou Gallery in Rabat, Morocco last May.

Treasurer Juanita Folmsbee, EFA representative, expressed her gratitude for the kindness and generosity of the embassy and the Filipino community in Morocco.

Folmsbee vowed the donation would be used to construct three additional houses being built by EFA.

The EFA recently witnessed the completion of baccalaureate degrees of more than 20 students, she noted.

Simon Martin, EFA’s Patron and British Ambassador to Morocco, commended the association’s efforts in delivering tangible results, by assisting students in their pursuit of secondary education. 

Martin likewise conveyed his appreciation of the Philippine Embassy for supporting the EFA cause.

Other embassy personnel and staunch supporters of the EFA’s advocacy Lene Baekgaard, wife of the Danish Ambassador, and Maeve O’Driscoll, wife of the Representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Morocco also attended the ceremony last 4 July.