Get Involved

You can help the community by:

Planting a tree and improve the local environment (this is seasonal and only available to larger groups as arrangements must be made with forestry commission)
Bring out and distribute clothes and shoes to local poor families
Drink tea or eat a meal at a local home and the money goes direct to them
Don your decorating clothes and help a local family who lack the resources or skills to repair or decorate a room in their home (roofs often need repair following heavy rain) (contributions are requested from volunteers to pay for materials)
Help out repairing or replacing irrigation ditches which are often damaged following heavy rain or flooding
Muck in on a community project like replacing the irrigation channels, fording the river, repairing the road which gets damaged by the weather. Past projects include building a water tower and building the hamam
Contribute to dental or medical expenses. Few Berbers have enough money to pay for treatment even in the Ministry of health hospitals and even fewer have health insurance
Washable nappies, nappy wraps or covering pants are in demand and we have no supply (ask your friends if they have any leftovers)
Using the village hamam (this is available to prebooked groups)

We also welcome those with practical skills, medical or complimentary therapy skills and experience.

Future Opportunities

The village would like an extended reading room with toilet facilities for the older ladies of the village who have been asking since 2011 to learn to read and write and do mathematics so that they can manage their own household expenses without the need to go to male relatives or friends to do it for them. The room requires extending and more furniture and learning supplies as well as providing two toilets. Donations can be made direct to the village association via Mohamed or Ahmed. Both Mohamed and Ahmed are on the board of the village association.

The village association would like:

FI=unding for solar panels to operate the well in the village and to provide solar panels for the school classrooms
Help Repairing and painting further homes of the very poor.
Help to clear an area in the Warwickht near the hamam making it a safe play area for children to play with equipment. If we can achieve this play areas for other villages will follow.
Donations to the Village Association to purchase and replace 4km of drinking water pipe providing a wider capacity pipe to refill the water tower to prevent water shortages which occur in the hot summer months due to the small diameter pipe which is currently in place.

In the longer term the villagers are keen to have their own nurse practitioner and a multifunctional community building with reading and learning rooms, meeting rooms and a nurses’ room. This would enable training of eg. Local midwives and be used for visiting health professionals and trainers (dentists, opticians, visiting Dr’s, vaccination clinics, nutritionists, midwives etc.), support groups locally (pregnant women and new mothers to support each other), A birthing room for the midwives and nurse practitioners to assist with village births so women and babies will be better catered for with births and immediate after care at home.

The irrigation channel replacement project continues as and when funding allows and visitors whether individual or group who are interested in a hands on aid experience are welcome to work alongside villagers on these projects. We do ask that those who take part contribute towards materials like metal and cement.

Many of the younger villagers are keen to learn other languages so those with language skills to offer are welcome to run small language class groups during their visit. This needs to fit round the free time outside school hours.

We are also looking for holidaying or retired teachers who would be interested in coming to teach basic English and or French to the older ladies so they are able to converse with visitors to the village.

Donations

Homestays and Riad Kasbah Oliver work closely with the village association. We need funding for medical operations, replacing a 4km section of water supply pipe and ongoing replacement of irrigation channels. Your donations make a massive difference to this small mountain community. Donations can be made direct to the Village Association when visiting Tighza and will go towards projects locally.

Find out more information about the project.