Adoptions, Morocco: abandoned and never adopted children, what future will they have outside the orphanages?

ROME – The creation of the “counters for Care Leavers” is part of a project promoted by Ai.Bi, an NGO set up by a movement of adoptive and foster families, has been working every day since 1986 alongside the children hosted in institutions around the world to combat the abandonment emergency and in Italy in 25 regional offices. In Morocco, the Organization is a fundamental support in planning the future of young people who are about to leave the orphanage.

The figure of the social intermediary. When the school year comes to an end, the children and young people of the Rita Zniber Foundation (institute located in Meknè with which Ai.Bi. has been collaborating for some time) are preparing to pass their final exams, at school or in vocational training centres. For some of them, on the other hand, the search for internships continues and the moment of choosing the path to undertake for the following year is approaching, whether it is a question of continuing higher education or opting for professional training. There are many possibilities, but it is necessary to find the right one for everyone, depending on the school level and the skills acquired.

The service from the Care Leavers counter. It is at this point that the service provided by the Care Leavers counter intervenes. Well organized within the Foundation, and an example of good practice for other social protection institutions throughout the country that take care of this segment of the population, the desk welcomes young people on specific days and times, in a special space. Here the social intermediary, a figure born within the center thanks to a pilot project conducted by Ai.Bi. Morocco and the Ministry of Solidarity, Social Integration and the Family, supports and accompanies them in the construction of an individualized social inclusion plan which first of all allows them to identify the most suitable educational or professional path for them.

The orientation meeting. The aim is to find the most suitable career path during the last days of school. The desk then organizes a week of orientation sessions with an OFPPT (Office for Vocational Training and Employment Promotion) expert. Young Care Leavers receive information about the different branches of vocational training available in the various OFPPT centers and about the job opportunities they can later access. These orientation meetings are also useful for providing information on the possibilities of strengthening the skills already acquired, deepening the field of training already undertaken