OVCI has been present since 2000 in the Rabat-Salé-Zemmour-Zaer region (northern Morocco), now called Rabat - Salé Kenitra.
The Organism was called to carry out a consultation at the "Lalla Meriem" orphanage, for its experience in the field of disability.
The living conditions of children with disabilities in Morocco are and remain serious: the abandonment and exclusion of children from family, professional and social life are still a dramatic reality today.
OVCI aims to break the condition of isolation to which these children are very often forced (out of fear, ignorance or lack of services), as well as giving them the opportunity to be followed in their growth, education and construction. of skills. Fundamental prerequisites for becoming adults integrated into the local society
From 2003 to 2006 OVCI, in partnership with the Amici dei Bambini Association and the Moroccan League for Abandoned Children, Rabat-Salé committee (local counterpart), implemented a project that had the following objectives:
- improve the quality of life by promoting the social integration of disabled children;
- prevent abandonment, thanks to the creation of rehabilitation services in the area.
In this three-year period, the medical-rehabilitation services activated have taken care of 352 children.
From this important experience, some parents of children with disabilities followed by OVCI, begin to question themselves on how to join together to have a greater weight in Moroccan society and make a direct contribution to the education of children with disabilities. A reflection and discussion with two Italian entities begins, the Parents Association of Our Family and the National Council on Disability. On March 30, 2006, the Parents Association "Casa Lahnina" (house of Tenderness) was born, which aims to fight for the inclusion of their children in the social life of the country.
OVCI's work continued from 2007 to 2009 in collaboration with the Casa Lahnina Parents Association and the Moroccan Ministry of Education, to:
- facilitate the school inclusion of children with disabilities, through the training of special school teachers
- enable the "Casa Lahnina" Association to activate and implement two pilot experiences:
- open the first Socio-Educational Center (CSE) in the whole of Morocco, for people with severe disabilities
- create a Special Pilot Class (CLIS) for children with medium-mild disabilities.
MOROCCO - EDUCATIONAL COMMITMENT
Finally, from 2011 to 2013, thanks to a co-financing from the European Union, the SAFIR guidance desk was activated, aimed at parents of disabled children in Temara, managed by the "Casa Lahnina" Association, within the “Zerara” school. To date, the project has taken care of more than 200 families of people with disabilities.
MOROCCO - REHABILITATION COMMITMENT
THE COMMUNITY BASED INCLUSION DEVELOPMENT PROJECT
On 1 June 2015, an annual project was launched, funded by the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region with the aim of reaching the local area - capitalizing on past experiences - through home visits to children with disabilities carried out by CBID promoters.
The global approach to the disabled person, adopted by OVCI and La Nostra Famiglia, cannot disregard the "Inclusive Development on a Community Base" (CBID) model, internationally recognized for providing, at sustainable cost, rehabilitation services to poorer than the population. Due to the failed experience of some government macro programs, the SIBC has not yet had an adequate diffusion on the Moroccan national territory.
For this reason, OVCI has started a limited-scale program, in the peripheral Municipality of Ain Al Aouda, about 30 km from Rabat, Province of Temara with the aim of re-presenting to the Moroccan government a model of SIBC that is really effective, because it starts "from the bottom", exploiting the resources already available within the community.
Nine young local promoters trained by the project were involved and engaged in home visits in the neighborhoods of Ain Al Aouda, as well as in two Orphanages “Lalla Meriem” in Rabat and “Le Nid” in Meknes. In almost two years of the project, 314 children and young people with disabilities have been reached.
Several orientation meetings were held with families, as well as moments of awareness in the area on the rights of people with disabilities.
The CBID program has opened up several interesting perspectives in terms of network, since:
- is part of the National CBID Morocco Network, a network that was born from the different experiences that have been implemented in the country and which aims to strengthen the presence of the program.
- is part of the Ai.Bi project (in which OVCI is a partner), co-financed by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, entitled: "Tous autour de l'enfance: Prevention and protection services for single mothers, minors without family protection and minors with disabilities in Morocco”, which connects various pilot experiences in the province of Rabat, Grand Casablanca, Tanger-Tetouan, Fès-Boulemane and Meknès-Tafilalet.
- is in network with various other Moroccan realities, through the European Project, in which OVCI is a partner, entitled: “Participatory democracy at the service of an effective recognition of the rights of people with disabilities in the Rabat Region”. It is a 3-year project co-financed by the European Delegation in Morocco, in which OVCI participated in the drafting, presentation, and of which it is a partner together with the two Moroccan Associations AMSAT and Club du Handicapé - Association Bouregreg.
On 1 December 2017, the annual project "INCLUSION: Insertion into the Local Community, through an Integrated and Holistic Service, which responds to the Special Needs and Needs of children with disabilities" was launched, funded by the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region and ended on 30 January 2019. The activities resumed on 1 April 2019 thanks to a loan from the Spanish Manos Unidas Association and provides for the continuation of the services offered by the Integrated Service: Physiotherapy, Speech Therapy, Special Education, Prescription Production of Simple Orthopedic Aids, Rehabilitation on a Community in Ain Aouda, Temara and at the Le Nid orphanage in Meknes.
Commitment Festival Handifilm
Film event that OVCI has supported and accompanied since its birth in 2007. Unique of its kind in the whole African continent, and with few equals in the rest of the world, Handifilm, through the films it presents, aims to change the view on disability.
