We are writing this post several months after the event, but are still enthusing about the fantastic day we spent at Abdessamad’s school in the middle of nowhere, several kilometres from El Henchane, on the Essa – Marrakesh road.

There are eight schools under the same director in this isolated, rural region, with a total of around 100 pupils. We spent the day with the youngest class, made up of children aged 5 to 7, as they learned Arabic and maths, using chalk and slates. Once they had worked out that we weren’t school inspectors, they relaxed and charmed us completely.

Then we handed out toothbrushes and toothpaste and Abdessamad showed them how to use them and how often. When we asked the class how many of them already cleaned their teeth, only one said yes. We will replenish the stock of toothbrushes/paste in six months, and then again another six months after that.

From then on, we will still provide them but the families will need to buy them at a subsidised price – we’re hoping that by then the children (and Abdessamad) will be in a position to persuade their parents that it is worth spending a small proportion of their weekly budget on dental hygiene.

A couple of months after our visit, Abdessamad tells us that around half the children say they are cleaning their teeth regularly. He and the other teachers are really getting behind this project and we owe them huge thanks for their commitment and hard work. Also a big thanks to Petra Hassan for her generous donation of extremely lovely toothbrushes which the kids think are ultra-cool; and to A J Dobkins’ dental practice, Manchester for giving us huge quantities of toothpaste samples and brushes!

If anyone is interested in this project and can help out in some way, do please get in touch.

Thanks to lovely Petra for her generous donation of 100 toothbrushes…and as is Petra’s way, they’re not just functional but also beautiful. They were a big hit with the infant children in Ait Bousduk. Check out Petra’s creations.

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The teacher who suggested Kamal as a child we should consider helping, is a trusted friend and is really enthusiastic about his prospects. Last month we went to visit Kamal’s family and his mother proudly showed us his school reports: he is doing particularly well in maths, religious education and Arabic language.

We want to try to make sure he continues in school – which at the moment means him staying in a boarding hostel in El Henchane during the week, and then walking the 5km back every Friday. So we’re paying 1500 dirhams (about £120) for 2009/10 to pay for books, travel to and from the hostel, and school clothes (as elsewhere, having the right uniform and clothes can make all the difference to whether families send their children to school).

Now we are on the lookout for a girl to sponsor…

We are now collecting books and other resources (paper, pens, footballs etc) to donate to a school about 20km inland of Essaouira for the 2009/10 academic year. If you’re interested in helping, please get in touch.

Here’s a photo from a recent visit we arranged to the school – for more, visit our Flickr pages.