September 23, 2011
School Aid Distribution: phase one is complete!
Once we were given the blessings of local authorities, we headed toward the school to begin our aid distribution. Hafida, the local teacher, was traveling with us and she received word that the only other teacher had forgotten her key and thus returned home for the day. That left almost 150 children to stand outside the gates of the school for hours waiting on us. By the time we arrived, there were just five sweets souls who had been sitting in the hot sun for 4+ hours awaiting our arrival. Hassane and Hafida coaxed them with chocolate to run to their friends' homes and spread the word that we had finally arrived. Within five or ten minutes, we'd doubled our numbers... the children continued trickle in until finally we could see a pack of them in the distance, running towards the school. All told, we had about 125 children who returned to school- a remarkable number by any measure, especially given that most walk a few miles to school and they'd already made the roundtrip journey that day. The air was thick with their anticipation.
We immediately gifted 100 books to Hafida to seed a school lending library. There are 300 more books sitting in our SC warehouse awaiting approval from the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Information and we look forward to sending those over as soon as the paperwork clears. We then began work on a fun craft project that involved each child being photographed with an instant camera and then making a frame for their photo. Most of these kids are rarely if ever photographed and the "instant film" was certainly a novel aspect. The children lined up proudly, standing a little taller, straightening their collars, adjusting their headscarves, and smiled for us. They would excitedly wave their photos back and forth in the air waiting on them to develop and then gather in groups to giggle at each other's images. Stephanie, Mokhtar, Melissa, Hassane and I had spent the evening a few days earlier at a broad table covered in popsicle sticks, cardstock and glue as we created the bases. The kids now delighted in affixing foam shapes and sparkly sequins to their frames.
We also outfitted each child with a new backpack. Tucked inside were pens, pencils, writing tablets, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste and crayons. It was a joy to watch the kids collect stickers as they were photographed, made their frames and picked up their bags. We ended the stream of activity with high five's and chocolates for each child. The kids eagerly opened their backpacks and pulled out the items, eliciting waves of ooh's and ahh's. We posed for a group picture on the school steps and created celebratory rhythms by clapping with our hands before chanting "shou-kran Haf-i-da" (thank you Hafida), as their teacher showed incredible bravery and dedication to her students in helping us work through the long process to make this day possible.
Hassane, Stephanie, Hafida and I stood in the doorway to the school and shared a few hugs and a few tears as we watched the kids run home, new backpacks strapped to their backs and large smiles adorning their faces. We then tidied up the school and piled nine people in a 5 seater Kia, driving through a series of bumpy country roads to the home of two of Hafida's students. This humble Berber family had slaughtered two chickens and a lamb for us and we sat on the ground together, eating from a large communal plate and trying to communicate via smiles and hand gestures. We toured their farm and saw donkeys, cows, chickens, turkeys, pigeons, rabbits and sheep before settling in for a soap lesson directed by Stephanie.
Stephanie taught the women how to make cold process soap to use within their homes and potentially to sell to their neighbors as well. A half dozen Berber women gathered with us while Stephanie walked through a recipe that needed no heat and was measured in empty yogurt cups. Yes, yogurt cups. She had patiently spent the previous few days exploring what oils were available locally, identifying a universal measure since scales are not an option (hence, the yogurt cups) and testing various recipes. The mood itself was buoyant but the teaching was quite a challenge, as the interpreter we brought along was male and this particular family insisted that men and women be separated, even if the women were properly covered. That left us with just one woman who spoke a touch of English, but Stephanie patiently pressed on and fielded good questions at the end. We're optimistic that at least a few of the women will give it a try themselves.
We left the house at sunset as navigating unpaved roads in the Moroccan countryside is best done whilst there is still a touch of daylight. We drove an hour back to Essaouira, loaded our luggage into the car and then drove 3 hours east to Marrakech, arriving at midnight and capping off eighteen frenzied hours of work. We toasted changing the world in ways large and small before putting ourselves to bed.
I am immensely pleased with the success of our efforts. I am encouraged that we now have the blessings of the local government, though we did experience two separate police inspections while at the school- more discussion, more collection of passports, more information called into embassies, ad nauseum. However, I cannot help but believe that this success will make the next distribution trip a touch easier. We're learning the ropes, building relationships and pushing through and I am confident that will yield positive results. In the last sixteen months, we've provided more than 150 children with backpacks and school supplies while growing the school library from 11 books to 400 books. We've provided dozens of balls, jumpropes, parachutes and ribbon wands for the kids to enjoy a bit of respite from their industrious lifestyle. I know what we're doing is valuable, even if it consumes more energy than it should to achieve. I'm coming home re-energized and with a host of new ideas about how we can best serve the rural community.
I have numerous people I need to thank for their invaluable assistance in these efforts:
Hafida, the local teacher, who has gone to the mat with the government in order to get these children the supplies they need. Who has encouraged me and been a tremendous resource to our efforts. Who takes a taxi 45 minutes each day from her home to the country road, where she is dropped off and walks 2 miles on dusty, rock-ridden paths to reach her children each day, only to do it all again in reverse each night. She is an inspiration.
Stephanie Craig of Honey Bee Soaps, my dear friend and traveling companion, who left her children to travel to the other side of the world and help children she'd never met. Who tested soap recipes and made craft frames and kept me (relatively) calm when the government threw up a solid week of roadblocks that threatened to shut us down. Who walked the souks with me in Marrakech and helped restock the Moroccan goods we sell who make this all possible. Who can pack a box of fragile items like a champion.
Melissa Flick of The Nourish Collective, who took time out of her busy schedule to travel to Morocco and dream big with me. Who kept the mood light and made lots of craft frames as well. Who designed the original soap recipes and composed a comprehensive manual we had translated into local languages to assist. Who donated 200 bars of colorful blue soap for the school kids. Who wants to save the entire world- superhero style. Who can argue with that?
Brooke Stant, of Villainess fame, a dear friend who asked me some time ago how she could help with our efforts. As shipping heavy items into Morocco is expensive, I played around with a few ideas before coming up with the instant camera project. She didn't hesitate to buy 250 exposures of rather expensive film to bring some joy to my Berber babies. Her gracious spirit and dedication to helping people she doesn't know personally is incredibly admirable and the film project was the highlight of our distribution day.
Heather Shuler and the team at Ballentine Dentistry who graciously arranged for a donation of 200 toothbrushes and tubes of toothpaste to be given to my Moroccan kids. Thanks, too, to Colgate for the generous donation. The kids were tremendously excited about these items.
To the man in Vermont that Stephanie only knows casually, but heard she was coming to Africa to help children and offered her $50 from his pocket, on the spot. I think he'd be happy to know that he bought 200 kids he'll never meet writing tablets, pencils, and chocolates. He said he'd never really done anything to help others... well, now you have. I hope it plants a seed to continue effecting positive change in the world in small, tangible ways.
To Hassane, who rides 11-hour buses to the north of Morocco (during Ramadan, no less) to work with our network of craftsmen. Who sleeps too little and works too hard negotiating the purchase of our handicrafts and packing them up. Who sits in government offices alongside me. Who drives my team around Morocco, often in the middle of the night, as we cram our schedules far too full while we're incountry. Who translates for me in all of our dealings, whether they be in Arabic, French or Berber. Who tears up at the sight of a hundred kids walking away with From Morocco, With Love backpacks slung across their backs. Thank you for your dedication. If we did not have such a devoted incountry ally, none of this would be possible.
And finally, to anyone who has ever made a purchase from our nonprofit. Those are your dollars at work. Without your support, we couldn't generate those smiles. We couldn't help little girls believe in themselves. We couldn't stare corruption and bureaucracy in the face and press past it. We couldn't empower kids to dream bigger than what they see before them every day. From the bottom of my heart: thank you. This is only the beginning...
Posted by Lela at 6:46 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
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