Written by Jean R. AbiNader

“In an interesting parallel to Morocco’s growing presence in Africa promoted by King Mohammed VI, CorpsAfrica is growing as well, expanding into Malawi and Senegal later this year. Former Peace Corps Volunteer Liz Fanning founded CorpsAfrica in 2011 to give Africans the opportunity to serve in their own countries and other African countries along the lines of the Peace Corps model. Educated young Africans can now have the opportunity for a transformative and career-launching experience and, at the same time, contribute to rural community development through service programs throughout the continent. CorpsAfrica plans to have a presence in every African country by 2025.

In an interview with MAC, Liz said that the key to the start-up of CorpsAfrica in Morocco was support from the US Government’s Middle East Partnerships Initiative (MEPI) and Moroccan sponsors, particularly the OCP Foundation (www.ocpfoundation.org). Now, CorpsAfrica, in partnership with the Foundation, will take its successful community service model to Senegal and Malawi in 2015, placing 24 Volunteers (ten country nationals and two Moroccans in each country) for one-year volunteer assignments. The growth of the program builds on the success of CorpsAfrica’s model in Morocco—where 18 Moroccans are currently serving in high-poverty rural communities…”