5th telethon expects to raise 30 million dirhams for handicapped

The Moroccan Association for Handicapped Persons (AHM) holds May 9 through 18 its fifth Telethon to collect 30 million Dirhams ($2,6 Mln) to carry out projects for the integration of handicapped persons.

AMH executives said at a briefing in Casablanca earlier this week, the funds to be raised at the 5th Telethon will provide Morocco with reeducation and integration structures that will be managed in collaboration with regional associations, and will contribute to the financing of social and sport facilities construction.

Donations will be deposited in some 15,000 money boxes in banks, pharmacies and post offices across Morocco. A special account will also be opened at Morocco's central bank, Bank Al-Maghrib.

The Telethons organized in 1993, 1994, 1998 and 2000 enabled the AMH to collect some 48 million Dirhams ($4 Bln). The funds financed the construction of Noor Center for rehabilitation and social integration, the first of its kind in Morocco.

The center, dedicated by king Mohammed VI in June 2000, received during the last seven months nearly a thousand handicapped persons, center executives say.