Rabat – Former Moroccan football player Abdeslam Ouaddou has donated 732 tablets to scholars in a rural commune in the southeastern Moroccan province of Tinghir.
Ouaddou’s contribution complements the Ministry of Education’s efforts in promoting homeschooling, now a necessary preventive measure to fight the novel coronavirus.
Tablets were given to young schoolchildren of the rural commune of Alnif, 158 kilometers from Errachidia, the former player’s hometown.
Ouaddou previously donated €100,000 to provide internet access to the commune of Alnif in order to support distance learning.
The former international football player announced his donation on March 20 in a heartfelt message in Tamazight (Berber), expressing solidarity and compassion.
In the video message that has gone viral on social media, Ouaddou acknowledges that the world is experiencing “hard times” due to the outbreak of the virus. “This is not a time for jokes. People are dying and hospitals are full and there will be no places for more patients.”
Following the March 13 decision to temporarily close all Moroccan schools amid the mounting fear of a major breakdown of COVID-19, which can easily spread in large gatherings, the Ministry of Education launched the “Telmid Tice” website to host remote classes.
The ministry announced on April 2 that the website has reached 600,000 users per day since its launch on March 16.
Other local and international stars have released videos amid the spread of the pandemic, raising awareness, declaring their contribution to nationwide efforts, or simply providing encouragement and expressing solidarity.
Italian football star Marco Silvestri addressed a message to Moroccans in Darija (Moroccan Arabic), sensitizing them to the importance of restricting movement.
“Salamu alaikum (peace be upon you), I am Marco Silvestri. Look at what happened to us in Italy. Please stay home. Do not make the same mistake,” he urged Moroccans.
Ouaddou’s in-kind and financial contributions add to the country’s lauded response to the pandemic, also marked by King Mohammed VI’s March 15 creation of the Special Fund for the Management and Response to COVID-19.
The fund aims to alleviate the pandemic’s impact on Morocco’s health, economic, and social sectors, and has been mobilized for efforts such as expanding the country’s healthcare capacity and providing stipends to workers with suspended activities.
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