In the Press: A young Moroccan woman is fighting to provide books to students at a small school near Casablanca

A year's worth of textbooks, school bags, supplies, a library, and two swings—that's the ambitious goal of Sara Arsalane, founder of the fledgling association Lilipad. This Moroccan woman, based in Berlin, is seeking donations to allow the 207 children of the Lakhdara primary school, near Casablanca, to escape their daily lives through reading. To make this project a reality, Sara launched a crowdfunding campaign on GoFundMe (https://www.gofundme.com/lilipad-morocco). She currently needs nearly €530. "I've already managed to raise €2,000," she explains. "And the association will soon be participating in two events to raise even more money."

Reading, a journey for everyone

Just a year ago, creating Lilipad wasn't even on Sara's radar. "I wanted to leave my job in Berlin. I work in the startup world, and I was thinking of taking a six-month break. I've always wanted to volunteer, so I started looking for small organizations in Africa that work with street children," recalls this Casablanca native, who has always been sensitive to the plight of these children, "perhaps because I saw so many of them in Casablanca." But things didn't go exactly as planned. She couldn't find the right organization. No matter. She kept searching, and while browsing the internet, she stumbled upon the website of a school in Uganda where volunteers occasionally visited. She started talking with the math teacher who had initiated the project, and one thing led to another, and she decided to help the students at the school by collecting books. “Reading has always been my passion,” she confides. For this project, she can count on a few friends who help her organize events, as well as on her family and friends who make donations, and one of her former employers. “I managed to raise €5,100,” she says proudly. “With this money, I bought 890 textbooks and some of the 200 books for the library. I brought the rest with me when I visited last March.” She explains, “The school has 1,000 students, but it was impossible for the association to provide for everyone… So we decided to give textbooks to the children who were going to take an exam.” After this experience, Sara immediately wanted to start another project, this time in her native country. It was her family and friends who told her about the Lakhdara primary school. The headmaster couldn't believe his ears and was, of course, immediately enthusiastic about the young woman's proposal. Part of the donation will arrive next month, just before the start of the school year, while the rest—the library and the swings—should be installed by the end of September. Until then, Sara will continue to fight tirelessly.