Tiznit

Un Vélo pour Elles

This project aims to support young girls from disadvantaged families in rural areas of southern Morocco, enabling them to attend high school, continue their studies and prepare for the world of work.

A bike to change a woman’s life

In the rural region of Tiznit in Morocco, it is necessary to walk between 2 and 5 hours a day to get to school.

For this reason, 70% of the girls drop out of school along the way.

The objective of the projet “Un vélo pour elles” was to provide 200 girls with bicycles to enable them to get to school more easily. Thanks to it, these girls obtained a success rate at the baccalaureate 3 times higher than the national average. Also, more than 50% of them had the opportunity to study.

Following this pilot project, more than 1 500 000 bicycles were distributed throughout the Kingdom of Morocco, for young girls as well as boys, by NGOs and the Moroccan government.

Brahim Moslih, Decathlon teammate

“Ever since I was a child, the fact that school wasn’t close by meant that my sisters couldn’t finish their studies, and they all had to go out to work while they were still young. This had such an impact on me that I decided to become a decathlete in the Tiznit region, to which I later returned. There was always the big problem of school wastage, especially among girls, pupils and schoolgirls.

I wanted to take action in my native country by helping to get young girls into school. This project even received government support 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. With 80% of girls dropping out of school, it was high time we took action in the region.

The Decathlon Foundation distributed 330 bicycles to these 11-year-old girls to help them find their way back to school. Eight years later, 70% of these girls had passed their baccalaureate and gone on to further education. Some had even become executives or managers in various sectors, while others joined the Decathlon teams.

Wastage in the region has fallen by 10% in less than 10 years. It’s a success story that has inspired the Moroccan government. It has in turn distributed 1 500,000 bicycles to schoolchildren throughout the country.”