When I was a child, the school was far away so my sisters had to end their education and all had to go to work at a young age. It affected me so much that it became my Decathlonian project in the Tiznit region, to which I later returned. Dropping out of school was still a big problem, especially among girls in primary and secondary school.
I wanted to take action in my homeland by taking part in encouraging young girls to stay in school. This project even received support from the State a few years after it was set up.
One day, I met the humanitarian association “juste pour eux”, which helps children in rural areas of Morocco. Together, we decided to build the “un vélo pour Elles” project [whose name means “a bike for the girls”]. With 80% of young girls dropping out of school, it was really time to take action in the region.
The Decathlon Foundation therefore gave out 330 bikes to those little 11-year-old girls, so they could simply get back on the path to knowledge. Eight years later, 70% of those young girls had earned their baccalaureate and continued with their education. Some had even become executives or managers in various industries, and others joined Decathlon’s teams.
There was a 10% fall in the number of school drop-outs in the region in 10 years. This was a real success which inspired the Moroccan State. In turn, the State gave out 400,000 bikes to schoolchildren all around the country.
Story told by Decathlon teammate Brahim Moslih.