In this episode of Design for Change, host Sheela Sethuraman interviews Mohammed Abbad Andaloussi of Al Jisr about his success involving businesses in schools in Morocco.  Education in Morocco faces two major problems.  First, despite spending 26% of the budget on education, only 13% of students graduate and over 400,000 drop out each year.  Second, because there is little focus on business, most students want to become civil servants.

In order to help the schools better prepare students for careers, Andaloussi has enlisted businesses to help schools not by funding them but by adopting them.  The name of his organization, Al Jisr, means "bridge", and he is building a bridge between education and industry.  Companies provide technical resources, volunteers, administrative assistance, and a business perspective.  This keeps the businesses involved in the long run and utilizes their strengths in the way a simple donation could not. 

Currently over 100 corporations including Microsoft, Citibank, and GE have adopted over 200 schools. While impressive, Al Jisr's goal is to have 1000 schools adopted by 2012 and eventually, all 8700 schools in Morocco.  Part of his success comes from the way the organization is branded.  The King of Morocco even agreed to be Al Jisr's honorary president, something that distinguishes it from the thousands of other organizations working in the country.