The Rabat Academy was born from a personal journey—one that began in a fruit and vegetable market in Niger in 2017. While working there on assignment, I met Moussa, a bright and enterprising 10-year-old orphan who had already spent years working as a personal grocery shopper for expats. I was struck by his intelligence, resilience, and natural drive. A year later, when the government shut down the market, Moussa agreed to pause his work and enroll in an accelerated learning program that allowed him to complete primary school in just two years.

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Since then, Moussa has spent his summer breaks with my family in Morocco and was in Rabat when Niger closed its borders following the July 2023 coup. Unable to return home, he sought to enroll in school in Morocco only to be told that Moroccan law does not allow children who are three years or more over the typical age for a grade to enroll in traditional schools. This left Moussa, whose birth certificate added five years to his real age, with no place to continue his education.

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We explored several options, including CNED, the French distance learning system, but that wasn’t accessible due to his age and his lack of previous enrollment in a French government school. Ultimately, the only viable solution was to homeschool him using an accredited British curriculum supplemented with English language classes and extra-curricular activities. It wasn’t easy at first, especially as Moussa was adjusting to several new languages - English and Arabic - and navigating dyslexia—but he’s made remarkable progress. In just a few months, his English improved dramatically, and he became an independent, curious learner—researching his own questions and excelling in his studies. Today, he speaks Moroccan Arabic as well as English and balances academics with his passion for soccer, training several times a week.​​​