His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist Him, proceeded, on Monday in Tanger, to the launch and inauguration of several projects included in the framework of the flagship programme ''Tanger-Metropole'' and intended for the promotion of the socio-economic conditions of women and the protection of children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The Sovereign thus proceeded to the inauguration of a Women's Education and Training Centre in the Mghogha Lakbira neighbourhood, and to the launch of construction work for an Active Women's Centre in the Bir Chifa neighbourhood in Beni Makada, a Children's House in the Bellevue neighbourhood in Mghogha, a Centre for Mothers in distress in the Branes neighbourhood and a Student House ''Dar Attaliba'' in the Mghogha Lakbira neighbourhood.

Mobilising investments of around 27.5 million dirhams, these local projects reflect the interest that the Sovereign attaches to the development of the human element, particularly women and children, and His constant desire to provide all fringes of society with the means and tools for socio-economic insertion in order to enable them to participate actively in the development of their country.

The Women's Education and Training Centre in the Mghogha Lakbira neighbourhood, whose work was launched by HM the King, may God assist Him, on 22 March 2014, has as its main objective to support women from disadvantaged backgrounds, by providing them with diverse skills (culinary art, pastry, cutting-sewing, hairdressing-aesthetics, embroidery) and by enabling them to have stable incomes, notably through income-generating and employment activities.

Fruit of a partnership between the National Initiative for Human Development (INDH), National Mutual Aid, the prefecture of Tanger-Assilah and the associative fabric, this Centre (5.2 MDH) will also allow for the functional literacy of the beneficiary women, their awareness-raising, as well as the reception and education of their children under 3 years old.

The Active Women's Centre in the Bir Chifa neighbourhood (3.5 million DH) is intended for its part to ensure greater social stability and successful economic insertion for the beneficiaries.

Built on a plot of 1,154 m2, this Centre will allow women in the neighbourhood to benefit from literacy courses and training in income-generating trades (cutting-sewing, embroidery, drawing on glass and ceramics), and their children to follow quality preschool education.

This project, which will be carried out within a period of 18 months, is the fruit of a partnership between the prefecture of Tanger-Assilah, the Urban Commune of Tanger and National Mutual Aid.

As for the Children's House (8 MDH), its missions are the development of awakening in children, moral and psychological support for children in difficult situations, participation in efforts to protect children against violence, and information, education and awareness-raising regarding children's rights.

An educational and leisure space par excellence, this social structure will include medical and psychological monitoring, child protection and legal assistance units, a drawing and sculpture workshop, classes in life and earth sciences, civic education, religious education, and foreign language teaching, computer and school support rooms, a reading club and a library.

The Children's House will be built within a period of 18 months, within the framework of a partnership between the INDH, the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training, the Agency for the Promotion and Economic and Social Development of the Prefectures and Provinces of the North, the prefecture of Tanger-Assilah, and the urban commune of Tanger.

The Sovereign also launched the construction work for a Centre for Mothers in distress in the Branes neighbourhood, a structure that will make it possible to provide the necessary social, psychological and legal assistance to Mothers in difficult situations, to raise their awareness and to take care of them, as well as their children, in the best conditions.

This INDH project, built on a plot of 635 m2, will house medical and psychological monitoring, listening and orientation, family planning, legal assistance rooms, a media library, a gym, a temporary accommodation pavilion for mothers in distress with a capacity of 30 beds, a canteen, a playground, a lounge, and a nursery.

This Centre (4.5 MDH) is the fruit of a partnership between the National Initiative for Human Development, the Ministry of Health, National Mutual Aid, the prefecture of Tanger-Assilah, the Urban Commune of Tanger and the Agency for the Promotion and Economic and Social Development of the Prefectures and Provinces of the North.

As for the Student House Dar Attaliba, it will be built in the Mghogha Lakbira neighbourhood on a plot of 850 m2 and will have the objective of fighting against school dropout among young girls, notably girls from rural areas and those from disadvantaged families.

Housing dormitories, a canteen, a multi-purpose room, a reading room, an infirmary, and a library, this establishment (6 MDH) will be built within a period of 18 months within the framework of a partnership between the INDH, the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training, the prefecture of Tanger-Assilah, the Urban Commune of Tanger, and the Agency for the Promotion and Economic and Social Development of the Prefectures and Provinces of the North.

These various projects will strengthen the social offer at the level of the city of Tanger, thus allowing the population to fully register in the dynamic of multidimensional development that the City of the Strait is experiencing.