Lesson-74400-1

Those working on MAP 16 learned to be innovative and adaptable to respond to the urgent needs of the most vulnerable children during a sanitary crisis such as COVID-19 in Morocco. It was learned that more awareness-raising sessions and top-ups for children equal less school dropout and child labor. The context of the state of emergency due to COVID-19 brought a strict population lockdown from 20 March. Morocco closed all schools and training centers, which will undoubtedly generate an increased school dropout rate, especially between sessions and for girls, and a real risk of seeing more child labor after the COVID-19 crisis and losing the progress made. MAP 16 is implementing different distance support tools to protect children from hazardous domestic labor and from child labor. Among them are awareness-raising sessions with beneficiaries via WhatsApp groups. Topics covered included the importance of children continuing their studies, the causes and risks of school dropout, and the dangers associated with child labor in domestic work. The WhatsApp groups were created in collaboration with schoolteachers. Internet top-ups for three months of Internet connection were provided for the most-at-risk students, to guarantee the commitment of the students and their participation in support courses and awareness-raising sessions.