It's summer already,
but what has happened the end of this school year?
7 min readingFebruary 2023 - August 2023
What are the Fiers & Forts doing in summer?What's been going on over the last few months ?In the Fiers & Forts family, I would like...News from the Fiers & Forts' skateparkA word from the FounderIf you've joined the Fiers & Forts family recently, you may be wondering whether the Center stays open during the summer... well, yes! The CFF is open 365 days a year, day and night, including weekends and vacations, because it's the home of the children we welcome.
Our older children will be doing internships to discover not only the professional world, but also another environment. These experiences enable them to grow in many ways, including autonomy, responsibility... Both long-term and new partners welcome our children into their companies, giving them the opportunity to learn in a different context. We'd like to thank them warmly for this very important support, this opportunity they offer to the older Fiers & Forts.
If you're in the Marrakech region and would like to help the Fiers & Forts in this way, by hosting one of our teenager for an internship, please don't hesitate to contact us!
The little ones are also on vacation, and we have to keep them busy for 3 months! Summer for the youngest is mainly occupied by workshops, outings, and we try to take them to the pool when our Fiers & Forts friends invite us to cool off in the heat. The children are resting after the density of the school year, but they also need to reinforce what they've learned during the year, and continue to practice writing, reading, counting and multiplying, in the form of games rather than lessons, because let's not forget, it's vacation !
If you'd like to help out, you can come and share a few hours with the children by offering a workshop. It could be music, sport, art, reading, writing or any other school subject...
If you live near Marrakech and would like to offer our children a bit of refreshment and fun, our swimming pool outings are always a delight for the Fiers & Forts.
Thanks to the initiative of our super intern Amalia, we organized a girls' day out to mark the start of summer! The program included a visit to the Women's Museum in Marrakech, which made our Fières & Fortes grow dreams for their futur, followed by an afternoon in the swimming pool at the Pavillon de la Kasbah, where we were invited and received like princesses. Thank you all so much !
Over the last few months, and all year of course, the Fiers & Forts have been going to school. They've worked hard and put a lot of effort into overcoming their difficulties, and at the Centre they've been helped with homework and catching up on their studies. The year has flown by, we're already in July and the exam period is over: the results have arrived!
Starting with our elders, our 3 students at the Royal Mansour Academy passed their 2nd year, with honors of course! They are truly exemplary for the generation that follows them, and are building their future so well.
We don't yet have the results of our vocational training students (cooking, serving and aluminum), but we have no doubt of their success.
For our high school students heading towards the baccalaureate, 2 Fiers & Forts are getting ready to choose their sections before the final stretch.
We're a little sad for 3 of our secondary school pupils who are repeating a year; the change of school and rhythm may have been a little difficult..., but they've promised to redouble their efforts as soon as the new school year starts !
And last but not least, all our primary school children have been promoted to the next level, well done !
We're proud of everyone's results, each at his or her own tempo, but all making progress!
It's not the freshest of news, it goes back to March, when the pretty mountains were still covered with snow. The children discovered with wonder and excitement the joys of sledding and snowball fights.
Our dear CJF partners came up with a fantastic workshop to create a mosaic together at the skatepark. After a drawing workshop, a design stage to assemble the creations, then a long puzzle game with recycled tiles, it was time to create our joint work, the Fiers & Forts mosaic !
The children had the pleasure of taking part in International Dance Day at a class "for all" led by Léa and organized by Katia, loyal friends of Fiers & Forts
The Fourtou Foundation organized a percussion Sunday for the children, with artists sharing their talents with the Fiers & Forts. The hands, hearts and walls of the Centre vibrated all afternoon, to everyone's delight !
The Fiers & Forts took part in the end-of-year show at a Montessori school in Marrakech, singing "We are the children of the world", a highly symbolic moment of sharing.
This is the second time that Fiers & Forts have been invited to the rehearsal for the filming of the TV show "La Fête de la Chanson à l'Orientale", thanks to our partners ENGIE.
The children had the chance to listen to, and meet some great Moroccan and French artists.
Supporting children's schoolwork is one of our most important missions, so when some of our little Fiers & Forts children had difficulty learning their multiplication tables, the whole Centre got together to learn and revise this essential skill. After a week of lessons and plenty of games to help them remember their tables... we organized a big game to congratulate them on their remarkable progress.
Now the only thing left to do is to keep up the momentum, so as never to forget it !
We've already told you about the creative, musical and even multiplication workshops... Now it's time to talk about food, or rather, shared meals.
Since the last newsletter, the children have been enjoying, among other things, delicious pancakes with jam and chocolate, lovingly cooked by our Fiers & Forts friends. The photos speak for themselves !
This day of joy for many Moroccan and foreign children is always difficult for our Fiers & Forts, who are faced with the reality of not being able to experience this moment with their families. But this year, for the big feast, we had a visit from Mr Messant, director of the Royal Mansour, and his team, to share this special moment around a big table, as family-friendly as possible, so that our children could also celebrate. Thank you for the meal and all the gifts!
In our last fund-raising campaign we asked you to help one of our older children, who is disabled in his right leg and absolutely needed a new orthopedic prosthesis adapted to his adult morphology. We have reached the goal of this fund-raising campaign, thanks to your generosity !
We are deeply grateful and moved by your support, so that he can start his adult life in the best conditions.
A great intern, Amalia, who is in training to become an educator, came to share our daily life for 2 months. Courageous and enthusiastic, she was a joy to have with us.
To wish another happy birthday to our very own Madame Cécile, who has chosen to spend this special evening... With the Fiers & Forts! Thanks to her Zellige choir for coming to celebrate with us. It's always a pleasure to welcome you to play and sing.
A young architect, Roxane, came to play in the mud and work hard with the Fiers & Forts to build, with the help of our one and only Mourad, our future recycling garbage room.
Young Dutch students in education, who traveled all the way to Morocco to meet and support us! One of their teachers, Sabah, had been an intern at the association in its early days, long before the Center was built as we know it.
Partners and supporters who once again showed great generosity, creativity and initiative in supporting us :
The Fiers & Forts trophy, a competition involving loyal golfers and friends to raise funds for the Center
The donation of computers by the BMCI Foundation
A visit from the Eijkman Foundation
The sale of paintings created during the artists' residency at Riad Alena
Generous donors of clothing, food and supplies
Season 3 was marked by an important and very positive change : the Edu-Skate groups are now mixed between children from the Center and children from the village. The skatepark is a place for sharing and openness, so this season marks a turning point and a new dynamic !
And that's not all : the beginning and end of the season were moments of celebration and challenges, with team competitions organized to the delight of young and old alike !
The end of the skatepark's construction marked the start of a new adventure with CJF, who entrusted us with Arthur to share our daily life, or rather, entrusted Arthur with the great mission of setting up the Edu-Skate programs. After a year with us, it was time for Arthur to set off on a new adventure, but he'll always be a Fiers & Forts. Thanks for everything, and see you tomorrow !
Succeeding him was Kyrian, who had caught the Fiers & Forts virus during his internship at the skatepark a few months earlier. Thanks for coming back to share a little piece of life with us, and you too, come back soon!
The world of skateboarding isn't just about skateboarding, it's about a multitude of interests in varied and often creative fields. Houda and Anas came all the way from Tamraght just to share their talent with us in a great "dreamcatcher" workshop. Many thanks.
After a year of daily use of the skatepark, we were beginning to see the traces of those hours of learning and perseverance, right down to the concrete. Here's a golden opportunity to bring back some of the builders, because we've missed them all so much. Thank you Simo, John, Jean-Marc and Lisa for the repairs, the mosaic and the good times.
Another year ends on a positive note, and I can't thank you all enough for your support. It will soon be 20 years since I committed myself to helping our children, and I haven't said my last word !! I still need all of you, and it's well worth it, I assure you! Thanks to you, futures are taking shape, thank you from the bottom of my heart !
Even more wonderful sponsors
This long-term support is wonderful, because thanks to these regular donations, we can look forward to the coming months with more peace of mind. Thank you to those who are already supporting us, and welcome to those who will be joining us very soon !
I wish you all a great summer !
