Since 2003, MSI has worked with youth in Morocco to eliminate child labor by providing training and education for children who have dropped out or are at risk of dropping out of school through sister projects funded by the U.S. Department of Labor. In 2007, MSI built on the success of the original project, Project Adros, by implementing Dima Adros (“I always study” in Arabic).

In Morocco, nearly 180,000 children under 15 have an income producing work and 450,000 work without pay, helping their families at home in domestic activities, including farming. Most of these children (85%) work in the agriculture sector, which by far has the highest rate of child labor exploitation

Dima Adros has expanded the geographic reach of the initial project beyond urban areas, and now includes a special focus on children working in agriculture. In the country’s poorest rural areas (Tassift/Chefchaouen, Ait Adel/El Haouz, Ait Seghrouchan/Taza, Sidi Issa Regragui/Essaouira, Skoura Lhadra/Kalaa des Sraghnas) but also in sub-urban areas (around Rabat, Salé, Temara, Kalaa des Sraghnas et Boujaad), MSI uses education programs to curtail the widespread practice of hiring child laborers. This project seeks to engender a more educated youth, thereby breaking the cycle of underage servitude.

Dima Adros has two main objectives: take 4,000 child laborers out of work by enrolling them to school and provide social and academic support to 4,000 children who are at risk of dropping out of school and subsequently becoming vulnerable to child labor. To achieve these goals, MSI has expanded non-formal education opportunities in rural areas. MSI has also designed and implemented an after-school tutoring program for children at risk of dropping out of school. The project works with local civil society organizations to raise social and parents’ awareness about negative consequences of child labor. To date, 2,900 children have attended MSI non-formal education classes and 3,900 children benefited from after-school tutoring classes.

Dima Adros also tackles material factors contributing to increase school drop-out rates: the project provides grants to children living in very remote areas and who need to stay in school dormitories; it distributes bicycles, schoolbags and stationary to children who recently stopped working to go to school; it helps local communities to purchase school buses and organize transportation for children to school. Every year, Dima Adros distributes around 2,300 schoolbags and awards grants to around 100 students living in school dormitories.

With eight staff members in its Rabat office, MSI works with three national NGOs and thirty local organizations to implement its programs. In addition to teaching young students, the project also builds organizational capacity among its local non-governmental organization partners. MSI strengthens its partners’ ability to monitor education programs and provides training on accountability in the education sector. MSI also works closely with the Government of Morocco, in particular with the Ministry of National Education, the Ministry of Employment, the Ministry of Social Development and the Ministry of Youth to advocate for improved policies and laws in the fields of education and child rights.

Dima Adros is currently scheduled to continue its work with local youth through October, 2010.

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