Moroccan humanitarian's 38-year wheelchair mission threatened in the Netherlands
Mohammed Chaoui, founder of the Tangier Wheelchair Foundation, is at risk of pausing his decades-long mission of collecting and sending refurbished wheelchairs to Morocco. The old Ritmeester cigar factory in Veenendaal (Utrecht), which currently serves as his base, is set to be demolished by July 1 to make way for 170 new homes, reports RTV Utrecht.
Since founding the organization in 1986, after meeting a man in Tangier who had never seen a wheelchair, Chaoui has shipped up to 300 wheelchairs and other medical equipment each year to Morocco, including sports wheelchairs for athletes.
The Moroccan-Dutch humanitarian has always operated from buildings awaiting demolition in order to keep costs low. With no income from his work and no affordable alternative yet found, he fears he may be forced to halt operations temporarily. Chaoui has appealed to the municipality of Veenendaal for help but has not yet secured a new location.
«I am now 65 years old, but as long as I am healthy, I want to keep doing this. But I cannot continue without a building. So I'm really hoping someone has space for me in Veenendaal or just outside», he pleaded.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Morocco World
44 minutes ago
- Morocco World
Rabat Business School Celebrates 12th Graduation and First Business Analytics Cohort
Rabat – Graduates, families, and friends of Rabat Business School (RBS) gathered to celebrate the school's 12th graduation ceremony yesterday, June 21. The event drew nearly 2,000 attendees to the University of Rabat's (UIR) business school, including faculty and administrative staff, to honor 700 graduates. The graduating class, which was split between bachelor's and master's degree recipients, included two bachelor's programs and eight master's concentrations. This year, notably, was the first time that the school's Master's in Business Analytics was awarded. The day was not only a look towards the future for these graduates , but also a reflection of the community that supported them along the way towards this achievement. One of them was Hasnae Tenouri, who was in charge of coordinating their final projects. 'I am personally very happy to have witnessed their growth through the years at Rabat Business School,' she said in an interview with Morocco World News. 'We wish them all the best, and we hope to see them achieving all their goals and objectives.' Noureddine Mouaddib, President of UIR, honored the institution's accomplishments in his speech at the ceremony. 'The vision of creating an international standard university began in 2005 but came to fruition through the blessing of His Majesty Mohammed VI, who opened our campus in 2010 by laying the foundation stone,' he said. Mouaddib talked about the core mission of the university: innovation, quality education, and social impact. President Mouaddib also highlighted the high employability of UIR graduates. Within one year after graduation, he said, around 90% of UIR students land a job, a statistic that is in accordance with international benchmarks. A key component of the schoo l is its international focus, a facet that Associate Dean for Faculty and Accreditation Nacef Mouri elaborated to MWN. 'Our programs are taught predominantly in English, and that presents a first challenge that students readily surmount. With 22 countries represented among faculty and global participation in research, RBS achieved the prestigious AACSB accreditation in 2020, a recognition held by only 5% of business schools globally,' he said. He also touched upon UIR's high accreditation. 'We now pursue EQUIS and AMBA accreditations to be part of an elite few triple-crown institutions.' RBS Dean Nicolas Arnaud reaffirmed the significance of these accreditations: 'We were the first Moroccan business school to be accredited by AACSB and now wish to achieve double accreditation with EQUIS. This will place us in the top 1% of business schools in the world,' he told MWN. MWN also spoke with members of the graduating class about their achievements. Youssuf Moudden, top student from the inaugural Bachelor's in Business Analytics program, shared his experience and gratitude. 'RBS placed me time and again in leadership roles such as student ambassador and events organizer, which helped me realize my potential,' Moudden said.. 'I owe gratitude to these unlimited opportunities and am glad to have reached this milestone.' Since its founding, Rabat Business School has grown significantly, with the number of alumni now surpassing 8,000 graduates. UIR has performed significantly well in research and innovation, now standing as the top university in Africa for patent registrations, with 640 recognized by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Tags: Rabat Business SchoolRBSUIR RBS
Ya Biladi
16 hours ago
- Ya Biladi
Morocco and CEMAC sign cooperation pact to boost economic ties and regional integration
A cooperation agreement was signed on Friday in Laayoune between the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises (CGEM) and the business associations of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) countries. This took place on the sidelines of the Parliamentary Forum on economic cooperation between Morocco and the regional bloc's Parliament. Signed by CGEM President Chakib Alj and representatives of the CEMAC business associations, the agreement establishes a Morocco-CEMAC Task Force as a joint platform for dialogue, coordination, and economic cooperation. Its mission is to structure collaboration, encourage information exchange, share best practices and business opportunities, support joint projects between companies from both regions, and serve as a proactive interface between Moroccan and CEMAC business communities. The agreement also creates a Steering Committee, co-chaired by a CGEM representative and one from each CEMAC business association. This committee will set up sectoral working groups, bringing together business leaders, experts, and institutional partners around priority themes. The parties commit to cooperating on identifying high-potential sectors of complementarity such as agro-industry, infrastructure, renewable energy, manufacturing industries, and digital services. They also pledged to facilitate business partnerships through matchmaking programs and B2B meetings, organize regular economic forums, and promote cross-investment, regional integration, and support for technology and skills transfer via training, expertise exchange, and industrial co-development projects. In a statement to MAP during the ceremony, Chakib Alj highlighted the complementarities between Morocco's and CEMAC economies, emphasizing the agreement to identify practical actions to boost economic ties. «Our goal is to create momentum between Moroccan companies and their CEMAC counterparts, fostering synergy and knowledge exchange», said the CGEM president. Similarly, Jean Daniel Ovaga, Chairman of the Congolese National Union of Economic Operators (UNOC), stressed that the agreement enables the private sector—a key driver of economic growth and value creation—to fully contribute to identifying priority cooperation sectors benefiting Morocco and CEMAC populations. «This is a strong commitment to move forward together, rebuild Africa, and bring growth and expertise to local communities», he stated. The Parliamentary Forum on economic cooperation between Morocco and the CEMAC Parliament aims to promote joint development projects and contribute to Africa's economic integration under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement.
Morocco World
a day ago
- Morocco World
Morocco Hits Record Rasberry Exports to Middle East
Morocco has set a new benchmark for its raspberry exports to the Middle East, reaching 700 tonnes just three months before the close of the 2024/2025 export season, according to agricultural data platform EastFruit. This surge, achieved during the first nine months of the current marketing campaign, marks a significant milestone for Moroccan agriculture. The boost is credited to the strong positioning of Moroccan raspberries during off-peak periods in rival markets, consistently high product quality, and a targeted trade strategy aimed at expanding in the Gulf region. Exports typically run from August through June, with major shipping peaks between October–November and February–May. October 2024 stood out as a record month, with more than 200 tonnes shipped, surpassing the combined totals of the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 seasons. Currently, Morocco exports raspberries to seven Middle Eastern countries. The UAE and Saudi Arabia dominate as the leading importers, accounting for roughly three-quarters of the total volume. Meanwhile, shipments to Kuwait have tripled over the past three seasons, and exports to Jordan have doubled. The UAE alone has seen a 67% jump in imports over that same period. The country's market share has expanded sharply across the region. Moroccan raspberries now represent 15% of imports in the UAE, up from 7%. In Kuwait, the share has jumped from 0.2% to 5%, in Qatar from 6% to 10%, in Bahrain from 6% to 22%, and in Jordan from 0.3% to 22%. While the report details Morocco's impressive growth in Middle Eastern markets, it also notes the country's rise to become the world's second-largest exporter of fresh raspberries as of 2024, second only to Mexico. This remarkable dual achievement reflects Morocco's strategic initiatives, including improved cultivation practices and targeted market diversification.
