The Moroccan Association “The village of the Atlas” announced on September 4, 2022 on its website the death of its founder Hansjörg Huber. “The father of 200 children, and our father to all, has (left) last night, indicates a published text son Facebook. The former Swiss businessman had left his life as an insurer in Zurich in the 2000s to take care of orphans in the Marrakech region.
In 2008, he left Switzerland definitively, with his partner, for Morocco and decided to devote half of his fortune to the construction of the children’s village of the Atlas Dar Bouidar, near Tahanaout, south of Marrakech. The Atlas Kinder orphanage is considered a model institution today.
In this village, Hansjörg Huber was able to bring education and the joy of life to more than 200 children with the help of educators, psychologists and teachers in order to keep the promise he made to himself in his youth. : be there for those who need it.
“Some children come from broken families, have been through terrible things and are all contracted and scared when we welcome them. It’s beautiful to see them opening up and developing over time. We must do everything so that each child overcomes his trauma, feels loved, protected and appreciated”, explained Hansjörg Huber.
These children are often the result of broken promises of marriage, rape or prostitution. Abandoned children often end up in one of the overcrowded reception centers in the country. Even today in Morocco, children born out of wedlock are still stigmatized, they are constantly victims of prejudice. “We want to make our Atlas children solid citizens, give them their own identity, pride and self-esteem that strengthen them in the conduct of their lives. This is why we invest above all in education .”
“We want to give every child a home full of love. Our dearest wish is that one day no abandoned child will have to struggle for survival. That’s why we build children’s villages.”
Hansjörg Huber, founder of the Atlas Kinder orphanageAssociation “village of the Atlas”
In addition to Moroccan Arabic, their native language, boys and girls learn French from an early age in these villages. Once they are in school, the teaching of English is added. Each of them is encouraged to develop in all areas. The children take dance lessons, learn a musical instrument and become familiar with agricultural activities.
“I dropped my material goods in Switzerland. I found immaterial values that I feel every day here. It’s magnificent. The heart, the respect, the love (…) Since I have been distributing these little nothing, I’m the happiest man on earth”said Hansjörg Huber in 2020. These children, who have grown up, and the friends of the association have promised to continue the work of their benefactor.