If you are passionate about the education of girls and the improvement of the lives of rural women, then Leïla Mezian Benjelloun is a name you should get familiar with.
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Here is all you need to know about Leïla Mezian Benjelloun
Leïla Mezian Benjelloun is the daughter of Mohammed Meziane, the Moroccan general.
She was born in Valencia, but spent most of her life in Spain.
She eventually studied medicine at the University of Madrid, and completed her specialty in Ophthalmology at the University of Barcelona. This feat was a a rarity for women at the time, however, she was strongly encouraged by her mother.
She got married to Othman Benjelloun, a prominent banker and businessman in 1960.
Together, they have two children, Dounia Benjelloun and Kamal Benjelloun.
She co-chairs the BMCE Bank Foundation with her husband, and together, they have been recognized for their work at the head of the foundation.
She is also the president of the Alaouite Organization for the Protection of the Blind and the Moroccan Red Cross and vice president of the Association of Medical Doctors in Morocco.
She is passionate about education and has been focused on it through the BMCE bank foundation which is charged with promoting education integrated into sustainable development and contributing to the preservation of the environment.
Through the Medersat.com program, supported by the BMCE Bank Foundation, she has been able to enroll more than 29,000 students since its launch in 2000, 50% of them girls, through 309 preschool units and schools, 6 of which are in sub-Saharan Africa (Djibouti, Republic of Congo, Mali, Rwanda and Senegal). The Medersat program also employs nearly 800 teachers.
In 2013, The BMCE bank foundation received the Wise Award from the Qatar World Innovation Summit for Education in recognition of the quality of its program and its innovation in language teaching.
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