Moroccan Girls Soar with the Canadian Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) A partnership with Project Soar & the Embassy of Canada to Morocco

A Moroccan-based feminist empowerment project has launched for the needs of marginalized teen girls living in underserved areas: Girls Soar Morocco has activated under collaboration between Canadian Embassy in Morocco and local expertise Project Soar, under support of the Canadian Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI). GSM has mobilized across Fes, Tanger, Massa, Rich, Sidi Slimane and N’zalet Bni Amer.

Project Soar supports the growth of gender equality, primarily in rural or semi-rural areas with less access to education or additional opportunities.

Girls Soar Morocco (GSM) has empowered 100 marginalized teen girls to stay in school, avoid child marriage, and gain life skills for future success. Achieved through the signature Soar empowerment curriculum, the program nurtures teen girl leadership and facilitates community-based change through Community Dialogues where Soar girls champion girls’ rights.

“I learned to get out of my comfort zone, to speak and to stand up for our rights. I learned that there is no difference between boys and girls and that a girl can often do more than a boy! Project Soar gave me an amazing opportunity to express myself.” - Fatima Zahra, Soar girl from Sidi Slimane

This project has achieved astonishingly positive results in a short time, with teachers noting changes in girls’ attitudes towards better engagement in school and growing an ‘unbelievable’ amount of confidence.

Maryam Montague, Project Soar Founder and Executive Director, says "We are proud to collaborate with the Canadian Embassy in Morocco. Their support in empowering Moroccan teen girls to become leaders demonstrates their commitment to gender equality and sets a positive example."

With this support from the Canadian Embassy in Morocco, the Soar solution achieves sustainable longitudinal outputs by contributing to improving the enabling environment of girls in underserved communities, building a feminist rights movement in Morocco to benefit generations to come.

Mme Nell Stewart, Ambassador of Canada to Morocco says, “It was an inspiring visit to Project Soar, Canada is proud to encourage, develop, and instill youth leadership with CFLI.”

For more information or to arrange for interviews or site visits, please contact Ujala Syed at ujala@projectsoar.org.