On the evening of June 1st, Moroccan Ambassador to the US, H.E. Aziz Mekouar, and Mrs. Maria Felice Mekouar hosted a sit-down dinner for thirty High Atlas Foundation supporters. High Atlas Foundation President, Dr. Yossef Ben-Meir, and Country Director, Kate McLetchie, were joined by Board Members, Sir Charles Dahan, Barbara Balaj, and Talal Belrhiti. We were delighted that former US Ambassador to Morocco, Mr. Marc Ginsberg, and Mrs. Janet Ginsberg were able to join us, along with HAF major donors Mrs. Julie Walters Rose, and Mr. and Mrs. Cary Greene.

Ambassador Mekouar began the evening by highlighting HAF’s accomplishment of planting 150,000 fruit trees, and the impact such a project has on rural Moroccan families. After presenting the organization’s mission for advancing rural socio-economic development in Morocco, Dr. Ben-Meir described HAF’s newest project to raise $75,000 to train six graduate students at Hassan II University-Mohammedia in participatory development skills and implement community-designed projects for over 2,000 beneficiaries. During their training, students will “learn by doing” and will work with local villages to practice their new skills and implement priority development projects, including those in fruit tree agriculture, irrigation, clean drinking water, women’s cooperatives, and youth programs (the $75,000 fundraising goal allows for a budget to cover these project implementation costs).

At the evening’s end, Ambassador Ginsberg committed his support to HAF’s work and encouraged others to join him and do the same. We would also like to welcome Ambassador Ginsberg to HAF’s Advisory Board, where he will join Ambassador Mekouar and eleven other distinguished individuals. We are grateful to have had this opportunity to showcase HAF’s work and look forward to doing it again soon.