Women Only: GAD Work and the Nedi Neswi

In Peace Corps Morocco, some volunteers are specifically assigned to work at Nedi Neswis, or Women's Centers. This is a reflection from a current PCV on her experiences being one of those volunteers.

I am assigned to work in Nedi Neswi, a center for Women and girls. My boss is female, and so is her assistant, my counterpart, and everyone else who belongs to the administration of our center. The few times men enter the building, or even the gates, it’s always a little bit of a shock. Not fear, but surprise, because this isn’t their place. Even the fathers of the children in the preschool hover by the door and wait for their children to be sent out to them. It’s been both wonderful and challenging to have this opportunity to work in a space designated solely for women and run by women.

My center has the following: vocational two year diploma-granting training programs for sewing and cooking, a daycare, classes in crochet, embroidery, and exercise classes. For the majority of my projects, I work with the girls and women in the vocational training programs, a population who (most but not all) have had limited access to formal education beyond elementary school. I also have weekly activities with the preschool students.

Some of the challenges: unlike many Dar Chebabs, the Nedi Neswi is a controlled and closed space. People can’t just come in and sit in on classes, sessions, or activities. They have to be enrolled in one of the programs, and they risk losing their spots if they don’t attend. This makes for a relatively fixed audience for Peace Corps work, which is helpful in creating an intimate and invested group, but frustrating because awareness activities based around certain days/events (like World Aids Day or International Day of the Girl Child) can’t ever include more women and girls than are already at the Nedi. I spent my first several months assigned to the Nedi telling my life story to every single woman, but it paid off and now if I don’t come daily everyone thinks I’m dead, sick or in America.

The perks: I have a consistent attendance to my activities, I have the opportunity to address sensitive topics in a safe space for women, I develop and work with my counterparts knowing that we can address long-term goals, and I get to do all kinds of YD work from 4yr olds to 72yr olds! The Nedi Neswi is a great and safe space to do GAD activities, test out toolkits, and form deep bonds with the attendees. I never planned that my Peace Corps service would take place here - but as a female volunteer in Morocco I have come to cherish the safe space and relief from public life that a women's center offers.

Acting Out on Gender

This month, the Gender and Development Committee is putting out our newest toolkit as warranted from our theme contest, featuring ten lessons that will enable volunteers and their counterparts to work with communities on topics of Gender and Identity Development through the use of theatre, performance, and folklore.

Why Theatre? For many reasons, but just to name a few:

Theatre is extremely popular among youth here in Morocco. From regularly planned Spectacs (Talent Shows), to random outbursts of group singing and dancing, to constant skit-making, many of our youth love to perform. Theatre gives them another chance to do so. With combining something that our students love with a topic like Gender and Development, we can provide youth with a meaningful experience taken specifically from their interests. The goal of the toolkit definitely is not to “disguise” the topic of Gender and Development by engaging students in theatre to do so, but instead to show them the versatility and positivity by which one of their hobbies can be used.

Theatre and International Development have a lot in common. When the theories, practices, and purposes of theatre and acting are looked at, a lot of them have strong correlations with practices that can help not only the international development process, but the processes of community and empathy building and understanding. This toolkit specifically uses Community Participatory Theatre, a form of theatre used to encourage community engagement as a tool not only to create theatre, but to bring people in the community together to problem solve, and Theatre of the Oppressed, a form of theatre used to give those who may be unheard a voice through performance. Community Participatory Theatre specifically asks communities, “What do we have here?,” an important first question is any international development process, and Theatre of the Oppressed specifically seeks to make sure that all voices are heard when seeking response, even the ones that may be tough to locate. Aside from that, concepts of plot, character, obstacle, objective, body language, pantomime, and other theatre tools are learned and exercised within this toolkit with practical applications that can build self-esteem and intentional decision making within our youth here.

The two most widely spoken languages are not written… thusly, storytelling is beyond powerful. Darija and the Amazigh languages are the most widely spoken in Morocco, especially in the areas that Peace Corps Volunteers work. When we talk about literacy and its importance to one’s ability to seek and understand knowledge, the question gets turned on its head when even the languages that could be read most frequently in books, news, and the internet may not be understood by their readers, not from lack of knowledge, but simply speaking a different language. Theatre engages people in storytelling and introduces communities to the importance of verbal expression and human connection as a way to share roots, values, and experiences to help us grow together. Folklore is also used in this toolkit because it serves that exact function… it unites communities through fantastical stories to help uncover historic roots and values, encouraging us to seek ways to live them in our communities today.

The new Theatre Toolkit, GAD and Theatre: Acts of Equality, is in the process of being translated, but we will be putting out the first couple lessons soon, and in time, all ten for Peace Corps Volunteers, their counterparts, and Moroccans to be able to use. We are excited to see the impact that this toolkit is able to make on our communities.

Gender Advocate Training

GAD is excited to partner with two Moroccan associations to host the Gender Advocate Training in December 2014.

We are fully funded! The training will take place in about a month. Thank you for all your support!

International Day of the Girl in Essaouira

PCV Olivia fills us in about her work for International Day of the Girl Child. More information about Olivia's service is available on her blog. More resources on tackling issues around girls and education can be found on the GAD Resources page

The UN declared October 11 as the International Day of the Girl Child two years ago in order to “recognize girls’ rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world.” Days dedicated to certain populations, causes, or movements serve as reminders to get informed and act but should not be left at that. Girls should be recognized, celebrated, and empowered everyday. 

Unfortunately, making gender equality a reality can be daunting. Challenges laced within societies and culture can seem impossible to overcome. Whole communities, men, women, boys and girls need to have the same mindset when it comes to empowering a gender who has been oppressed for so long and still struggles to gain footing in places all over the world. Often times “gender work” is labeled as a separate entity–relating only to women–but really gender work is present in all levels of development and without it, true development can never be achieved.

There is an abundant number of gender related resources worth utilizing and Girl Rising is one of them. Girl Rising is a global movement for girls’ education based primarily around a 2013 film that featured 9 girls and their stories of overcoming gender-based adversity in order to go to school. I unknowingly set out to do a Girl Rising screening the same week of the Day of the Girl and even more coincidentally, the week after the Nobel Peace Prize winner was announced.

Malala Yousafzai, is a Pakistani activist who was shot by the Taliban amidst her fight for female education and she is the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Malala’s photo and one of her quotes was projected on the large screen and as the first few girls entered the room, I overheard girls who came early to the event say how “Zwin”, beautiful, her quote was. Someone to admire, someone not all too different from them–a strong, young, muslim, a girl.

The event took shape after sharing the idea of doing a simple Girl Rising screening at Dar Souiri, a popular cultural center in Essaouira. After speaking with a counterpart, we set out make it an event rather than just a screening in the hopes that it would be the start to a deeper dialogue and further action. He expressed that many people would be on board with this and that involving as many people and associations as possible, the better.

Close to 200 women, girls, men, and boys came to the event. Aside from the film, girls from Essaouira were the vocal point of the event. Bnat Haddyate Sourite, a group of young female Sufi musicians performed at the start of the event and a short play and song on the importance of educating girls done by Essaouira’s English ACCESS program. The event ended with a forum discussion including three female students (two high school and one approaching her first year in university), one physical education teacher, the director of Association Bayti Essaouira, and president of Association Argania.

Seeing girls of Essaouira, many of them girls I have grown close with, on stage performing and/or speaking in front of a large audience was something special. Siham Alahyane was a huge help the entire night–her English is phenomenal and she translated for me the entire night (stress and trying to speak Darija don’t mix well). It will be hard to forget one girl, Siham Lajila, who sat on the panel for the discussion portion of the event. Earlier in the night she came to me worried and nervous wanting to opt out. However, not only did she decide to stick with it but she was an absolute rockstar. She spoke with fire, the utmost confidence and conviction. After one panelist spoke, she confidently pulled the microphone in front of her expressing how angry she was that a conversation like this even has to exist. She spoke on how important education is and why it should not be a struggle for girls. She said she was sick of hearing “Hshuma”, shame on you, when the boy next to her never had to hear it.

During the discussion between the audience and the panelists many points came up including lack of support from parents encouraging their daughters to be well educated, boys harassing girls on school grounds and the lack of respect given to girls opinions inside the classroom. Of course it was made aware that not all parents, teachers and boys are the same and that many of them are empowering the girls of Essaouira to not only stay in school but to continue onto university and the job market.

Once the event concluded, three teachers approached me insisting the Girl Rising film and discussion be shown in schools. The staff suggested we coordinate monthly conversations in Dar Souiri. Each girl on the panel and several in the audience who spoke wished for more discussion and events like this in the future.

The feedback for more events and discussions like this really shows that people of Essaouira want what is best for everyone in their community not just half the population. The support of people from multiple networks and fields is important considering, especially, that gender equality is across all people from all backgrounds and  in every community. We are committed to celebrating and fighting for the rights of girls everyday. 

IMD toolkit 2014 Playing to Your Strengths

Introducing a brand new GAD "Playing to Your Strengths" Toolkit for International Men's Day on November 19th! This toolkit is designed to encourage dialogue amongst the young men within your communities through sports and interactive discussion.

Host Mom and Counterpart

Charles serves in the North-Eastern region of Morocco and has written this article about his dynamic counterpart, his host mom.  She is a stellar example of a Moroccan woman who makes her community better through her daily hard work.  

I can always count on one person from my site texting me or calling at least once a week. Usually the contents of the message ask where I am and tell me to come to lunch or kaskrout.And she is not simply requesting my presence. She’s commanding me to come and I oblige. I would not have it any other because this person is my host mom and she is what makes my service in Peace Corps awesome.

Charles and Fatima during one of their educational sessions at the hospital

Fatima was the first person to quell any anxiety I had about my new assignment. For Morocco, she is the modern woman with the characteristics of being tough, being out-going, and being motivated. My host mom was the one that got me settled into the community immediately. Before I was even well rested from the day of travel, she gave me a tour of the town. Then registered me at the Gendarme and got a P.O. Box for me. When things went south for me, I could always count on her to get me back on my feet.

And I am not the only person she enjoys helping. Fatima is a leader of the community, from the women’s association to the hospital. This person never stops moving. Every Tuesday she will spend the entire afternoon at the hospital educating women about SIDA then providing tests. Among men leading associations here, she is on the forefront, always asserting herself. When my Dar Chbab had a summer camp for the first time in a long time, she immediately went into action organizing activities and recruiting youth. Fatima single-handedly saved the camp.

I wish there were more women in Morocco like my host mom. That is why I am excited that she will accompany me to the Gender Advocate Training in December. Already she has done a lot for me and her community. I cannot wait to see what the rest of service entails with her as my counterpart.

Second Annual Souss Girls' Soccer Camp

The second annual Souss Girls’ Soccer Camp was held June 22-28 in Taroudant, Morocco. AMJAD, a Moroccan women’s professional soccer team partnered with Peace Corps Volunteer, Tatiana Cary, as well as the local commune and various community associations to once again bring this amazing girls soccer camp to the southern region of Morocco. Tatiana who entered Peace Corps with a strong soccer background and passion for the sport had hopes of finding a way to incorporate girls’ soccer into her service. After hearing about last year’s Souss Girls’ Soccer Camp in Temsia she asked Kirsten Zeiter and John DeBellis to introduce her to the AMJAD soccer team. AMJAD’s enthusiasm after last year’s camp in Temsia was a driving force to recreate this project on their home turf in Taroudant. Tatiana began to meet with the AMJAD team in early January of 2014 to start brainstorming what this second camp would look like. A timeline was created over weekly meetings, where Tatiana really encouraged the AMJAD women to take ownership and help create the vision of what they wanted the camp to be. 

The camp was designed to encourage girls’ interest in sports and community engagement by fostering a safe and organized girls only camp where they could play soccer. Goals for the camp included improved soccer skills, self-confidence, healthy nutrition practices, exercise habits and lifestyle choices. The professional female athletes hoped to model and teach the connection between healthy life choices and pursuing sports goals, while demonstrating a commitment to adopting an overall healthy lifestyle. 

For many of the young girls, this camp was the first opportunity of its kind. This year’s camp in Taroudant hosted close to 45 girls from the Souss-Massa region which included: Taroudant, Ouled Teima, Gififat, Ouled Dahou, Sbt Igerdane, Talouine and Akka. A vision for the camp was to have many different towns represented as a way for girls interested in sports and soccer to find camaraderie in playing with girls from other towns.  Although these communities vary in size and resources, they all share an absence of opportunities for girls to engage in education and development activities. This camp has become a means for boosting girls development and empowerment through soccer.

The week was filled with all sorts of soccer related activity including morning soccer practice where the girls were divided into teams blending regions and ages. These morning sessions included stretches, warm-ups, drills and scrimmages. The afternoon sessions included health workshops, one focusing on nutrition and how to be a healthy athlete and the second on first aid, the Heimlich maneuver and CPR. The girls also received three soccer workshops focusing on technical skills, rules, regulations, AMJAD and playing techniques. The evening activities were led by a local group of counselors that did games, a small talent show, singing, dancing and on one night they led a tour of Taroudant. Thanks to the timing of the camp the girls were also able to watch the United States versus Germany World Cup Game one afternoon at a local cafe. Another unexpected event that coincided with a scheduled beach trip was the region wide Souss Championship Game. On Tuesday, June 24, the camp ventured to Taghazout to enjoy a morning at the beach complete with singing, drumming, swimming and beach soccer. The girls then enjoyed a picnic lunch in an Agadir garden and then it was on to Ait Melloul for AMJAD’s championship game. The counselors and Peace Corps volunteers helped the girls to make signs and lead them in cheers throughout the game. It was an incredible opportunity for the girls attending the camp to see their counselors, the professional women’s team, play to a victory of 3-1 over their opponent. Afterwards the AMJAD players and campers alike enjoyed photos with the trophy and celebrated their victory. The week rounded out with a tournament among the girls’ teams and a very nice certificate ceremony where all who contributed to the camp were recognized. 

According to Tatiana, giving AMJAD the resources to be the agents of community development was the key to the success of this camp. Each of the AMJAD counselors played a unique role in the camp, carrying their own set of responsibilities that helped contribute to the larger whole. AMJAD was solely responsible for finding all of the community partners and associations that greatly contributed to the camp including the soccer stadium, the boarding school, the cultural center, counselors, logistical support, animators, and more. The involvement of various community partners and associations provided a way for the community to be invested in and part of the camp, a truly incredible outpouring of Moroccan volunteers. Running a second Souss Girls’ Soccer Camp in a new location has helped to prove that this model works and can be successful in different locations. The publicity that this camp has generated across the region has sparked the interest of other towns to host in the years to come, which will hopefully help this camp to become more easily replicable across Morocco.

Having girls play soccer challenges gender stereotypes the world over but especially here in Morocco where women’s sports are still lacking development and support. Whereas any PCV could teach soccer skills this camp allowed young Moroccan girls to see their older Moroccan peers as leaders, professionals and successful soccer players. A PCV who participated at the camp noted how special it was for these young girls to watch the professional women play as well as interact with them. While watching the AMJAD professional championship game she was flooded with memories from her own experience growing up playing soccer in the states and the influence that the U.S. women’s national team had on her as a youth. She hoped that the girls’ experience at camp would have that kind of positive impact on them and their future development. Providing this type of opportunity for the campers to see the women’s professional team not only play, but be recognized and respected for their hard work and achievements during the championship match was an unexpected highlight of the camp. This type of role modeling for the younger girls by the AMJAD players is something that this camp hopes to continue to foster through future camps. AMJAD hopes to continue hosting and participating in future girls’ soccer camps not only in the Souss region but throughout Morocco.

Camp GLOW: Empowerment through Expression

Camp GLOW: Empowerment through Expression was a three-day intensive GLOW camp for girls of Taroudant and the surrounding villages. The camp was held from June 16th-18th, funded by the Small Project Assistance grant, and was attended by approximately thirty girls from middle school to university. The camp focused on themes such as gender equality and positive self-esteem, women as leaders, goal setting, SIDA and female reproductive health, and the environment. Each attendee learned how these themes are pertinent to their lives as women and as community members.

Each theme was taught through workshops and followed by an expression activity. For example, a trained Moroccan counterpart led an IYF session on gender and stereotypes, which was followed by an activity in which the girls designed hands of Fatima with colors that were assigned to positive attributes they self-identified with. Other expression activities included a recycled item fashion show, self-portraits in which the girls envisioned themselves as leaders, and friendship bracelets.

Other sessions included personal fitness and how to maintain a workout plan during Ramadan led by Tatiana Cary, an entrepreneurship workshop complete with business model posters led by Rebecca Levy, and goal setting led by Johanna Boyle, in which campers defined their goals and the steps they will use to reach them. While these workshops highlight these PCVs' prowess, these girls were tremendous in their ability to help girls with any activity no matter how artistically complicated and fill spare time with new lessons that were not initially prepared for the camp.

While these PCVs contributed to the benefits Camp GLOW had on the girls of Taroudant, the success of this project would not have been possible were it not for the contribution of our community members. We partnered with the Taroudant Nedi Neswi who provided lunch and kaskrut for the girls, helping to retain attendance of girls who traveled in order to participate in the camp. We also had help from our counterpart and friend, Mounia. From neighbors who let us use supplies to turn the Dar Chebab into a gym to others who provided time and expertise, a thank you is not enough. We hope to hold another session this fall with new programming for the girls who attended Camp GLOW and their friends. 

Jihane and Radia: Best Counterparts?

I'll be the first to admit that the life of a volunteer serving abroad is no walk in the park. Surely to some of you that admission isn’t at all shocking, but tell that to my Facebook likers. They only see my service through my statuses of triumph that celebrate my latest accomplishments, intriguing articles I post that allude to my intellectual growth, and super awesome photo albums that depict my 'once in a lifetime' experience. You'll have an even harder time convincing my Instagram followers; depending on the lighting, they only get to see my Mayfair service, my X-Pro II service, or my Brannan service. Occasionally I'll give them the 'real deal' (#nofilter), but even that perspective is bound to the limits of my iPhone lens.

To be clear, this post isn’t about the lonely dark moments I experience as a volunteer. One thing the Peace Corps has retaught me is not to allow myself to spend too much time dwelling in the space of my melancholy—my mom being the first to teach me. Instead, I take those moments as opportunities to learn a bit more about myself, with a particular focus on my best methods for bouncing back from challenging experiences and feeling down. Like many other volunteers, I've developed a personal list of methods to employ when I'm in need of an injection of positive energy, including, but not limited to: prayer, dancing around my house to the latest Arab Pop music, and Skyping with my Mom. Another method I've found to be very effective is spending a few minutes reconnecting to sources of inspiration that drive my passion for youth development, chief among them being remarkable youth that I've encountered. It's something that we volunteers don’t talk enough about—how there are moments in which our Moroccan friends, counterparts, and students are the only fuel we have to keep going in the face of overwhelming challenges. So I'd like to use this platform to highlight two young ladies who continue to serve me as endless sources of inspiration and motivation as I try to be the best volunteer I can be.

Their names are Jihane and Radia. I had heard about these two exceptional young ladies long before I met them, because they had done a lot of impressive work with a group PCVs living in a site about an hour away from me. Their names would come up in conversation so often that I found myself frustrated by being the lone volunteer in our area who had yet to met these superstars.  Well eventually the day came, and let me tell you, their preceding reputations couldn’t possibly have done them any justice.

The first thing I noticed was their impeccable command of the English language. When conversing with them, I often forget that I’m not speaking with native English speakers. It's astounding. Once I got past their language skills, the next thing I learned was how ambitious they are. Jihane, for example, is at the top of her university class studying computer science, and Radia, while still in high school, aspires to become an engineer; both of them hope to study in America one day, which I'm almost certain will happen. Needless to say, I quickly realized that these are girls who find something they want and stop at nothing to get it. An example of this is their success in a recent international English creative writing competition. Jihane and Radia, respectively, competed in the university and high school divisions of the competition. They both came in first place at the regional level, the countrywide level, AND the international level! Yes, you read it correctly. They competed with the whole world and won. As I alluded to earlier, no goal is too large for these young ladies.

As if that wasn't enough, I gradually began to realize the extent to which both of them have supported the efforts of my fellow volunteers assigned to their city. They not only have been willing to assist with translation at the drop of a hat, but also with leading various workshops and countless camp activities, and by serving as positive role models for their peers inside and outside of the classroom. The manner in which they selflessly volunteer their time, energy, and skills for the success of any given project is truly admirable. I'm sure that if there were a competition for the best PCV counterpart in all of Peace Corps world, they'd be serious contenders.

What I love most about these girls is that their humility keeps you from ever knowing that you ought to be impressed to the point of feeling star-struck in their presence. Such language may sound absurd when referring to young people, but I'm not afraid to say that I’m one of their biggest fans. I think it's unfortunate that much of society remains fettered to ageist notions that delegitimize the wisdom, inspiration, and exemplary that can be found in our youth. Sure, one could argue that Jihane and Radia have yet to accomplish feats truly worthy of such admiration, but for me, when I look at them, I not only see what they've accomplished thus far in their short lives, but also what they have yet to accomplish—their potential, their futures. Before we know it, these young girls will be strong and powerful women contributing to both their local community and the world.

I'm certain I'm not alone in the sentiments I've shared. I think I speak for all of the PCVs who've worked closely with Jihane and Radia when I say that it's truly a challenge to articulate the gravity of their impact on their peers and us. Surely my attempt here fell short. So I'll conclude by dedicating Peace Corps Morocco's GAD Committee blog post of the month to two super awesome young ladies who continue to do amazing GAD work just by being themselves. They also happen to be two of my favorite sources of inspiration, two really effective positive energy injections, and two really compelling reasons to continue my service with fervor, even when I don't feel at my best. 

Astronaut Day / Women's Empowerment Day

Upon learning that there would be a space-themed camp being organized by the Akka community at the Dar Chabab (youth house), I immediately remembered the amazing time I had spent at the U.S Space Camp in Huntsville, AL in 4^th grade and that a college friend of mine had been nominated for the Mars One program.

Heidi Beemer has signed up for a trip many wouldn't dare go on, one-way to the Red Planet. Thanks to Mars One; a Dutch Non Profit, she will get a chance to make her dreams a reality. The original pool of 200,000 applicants has been narrowed down to 1,058 people whom have been chosen to be in the second round of the application process. The next few rounds will narrow the field to just 24 people that will begin their training for the next ten years.

Camp took place on April 14-19, 2014 during the Spring school break. Five days of camp were in the evening and one overnight for older youth to star gaze and learn how to use a telescope. Approximately 40-60 youth participated daily. The youth attended space-related English classes with Peace Corps Volunteers in the early evening hours, and afterwards participated in different workshops related to space. One of the days was dedicated to astronauts and women’s empowerment and we were very lucky to get a video sent to the kids of Akka that were attending the camp from Heidi through Youtube. 

The day began with the volunteers highlighting five powerful women in American history and the kids and counterparts countered with five powerful women from Morocco. The kids were previously grouped by the planets in our solar system, and ironically no one picked Mars. Heidi greeted the kids, briefly discussed her time at space camp and taught our kids a little bit about the Red Planet. The rest of the day involved an obstacle course, an awesome tug-o-war tournament and was capped off with the playing of Gravity the movie. And of course, popcorn was served hot and salty. 

The Akka Space Camp was a huge success and we hope that it will not be the last one held in Morocco. We want to give a big thanks to the community members, counterparts and volunteers that made it happen. Also, a huge thank you and good luck to Heidi Beemer as she continues the application process to becoming one of the 24 that will endeavor on a once in a lifetime journey. 

BRO camp an amazing success!

Imagine thirty bros.

Are you picturing thirty 20-somethings wearing button downs, pastel-colored shorts, and sunglasses with straps on them blasting 90’s pop anthems?

If you are, then you couldn’t be much further from Morocco’s first BRO (Boys Respecting Others) camp.

Thirty campers and ten counselors from eight different towns in the Tadla-Azilal province arrived at the Dar Talib in El Ksiba on February 23^rd for a weeklong sleepaway camp for boys. Inspired by Peace Corps’ many successful GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) camps, BRO camp was created to make better boys with a better future for a better Morocco.

Some of you may wonder: Why did you make a camp for boys? Don’t boys have many privileges in Morocco? After all, boys attend school more than girls; boys have more jobs than girls, and, in many families, are held in higher favor.

While it is fair to note that boys do hold many privileges in Moroccan culture, boys also shoulder many of the country’s burdens. Youth face many pressures from society and family that are challenging to overcome. A 2012 World Bank study reported that, “…young men are expected to contribute money at home, and to save enough to start their own family. With the severe lack of opportunities they are capable of neither, and this failure has resulted in them becoming alienated within their own families. The psychological pressure that the young men face is huge. It’s not a coincidence that, for the poorer ones, the coping mechanism is to use drugs and to drift in inactivity.”[1] Walking down the street and seeing dropouts lounge at the café and boys smoking hash in the alley made it very clear to me the importance of an early and powerful impact on our boys.

Peace Corps volunteers and our Moroccan association developed an ambitious and comprehensive curriculum to empower our campers to rise above their challenges and thrive in their homes, schools and communities. At BRO camp, boys learned about health, preparing for work, gender and society, teamwork and leadership, and community service over 18 classes, 8 activities, 5 guest speakers, one community service fair and clean-up project, and the Building a Better Morocco Competition.  Mornings started with classes that varied from drug awareness, to expectation versus the reality of male Moroccans, to community organizing. Guest speakers arrived in the afternoon and spoke about the themes of the day. One amazing moment was when Peace Corps’ Fatima Akbeli and Samira Idoue Laouina fostered a lengthy discussion with the boys about the challenges women face in gaining employment.

Later that day, the students harnessed what they learned in class in their afternoon competitions about being honorable men and sexual harassment. Boys stepped into their sisters’ shoes (and out of their comfort zones!) when producing skits depicting sexual harassment, the issues of sexual harassment, and ways to prevent sexual harassment from happening. Students started thinking about stale and indoctrinated opinions in new, dynamic, and empathetic ways.

At dusk campers would gather in teams to prepare for the Building a Better Morocco Competition at the end of the week. Teams had to identify a problem in their community, research it, come up with a youth based solution, and present their findings to a group of judges. What our bros came up with blew everyone away. Boys passionately and thoughtfully articulated innovative ideas about new transportation options for young women far from schools, employment training for new professionals, and tutoring and mentoring services for youth from youth. But that wasn’t even close to the most amazing thing about our camp.

To see the most awesome part of our camp, you would have to wait until it was all over. Everyone transformed. Boys who were once shy became impassioned orators. Boys who were troublemakers became moral compasses. Boys who didn’t have a direction, created five year plans. Boys who once sexually harassed women spoke out vehemently against it.  Boys took what they learned at BRO camp and brought it to their villages. In Ouaouizeght, two bros taught three lessons from BRO camp to sixty girls and boys. In Foum El Anser, boys are organizing new clubs and activities in the Dar Chebab. Boys became Morocco’s best bros.

And these boys transformed me. My experience with these boys reinvigorated my service and has made me excited to expand our BRO camp to other villages, new associations, and more boys in my third year of service.  Because of BRO camp there are 30 more bros in Beni Mellal. We could use a few more bros.

---

[1] http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2012/05/14/challenge-of-youth-inclusion-in-morocco

Everybody Has a Voice Workshops in Ouarzazate, Zagoura and Tinghir.

By Thomas Duncan, 2013-2015 Stage

This winter we organized "Everybody Has a Voice" workshops for women’s associations from the provinces of Ouarzazate, Zagoura, and Tinghir.

They were huge successes. 15 different communities throughout the three provinces were represented, with a total of 57 participants, 50 of them women.

The workshops aimed to give women a forum to discuss their issues, collaborate on how to move forward together and provide professional experience, networking opportunities, and communication skills development. We also wanted to give women tools to do further collaborative work on their own.

To prepare for the workshop, we asked each participating association to create an artistic representation of an issue/issues facing women in their particular community. While the assignment was abstract, the women responded with some really powerful artwork
about really tough issues.

For many of the women, this was their first professional event. We discussed how feeling nervous was natural, but that everyone was in it together and that they could help each other, encourage each other to speak out and to offer ideas. Most of the women said that in their communities they do not have a place to discuss their issues, and often feel ignored. This meant that encouraging them to really discuss tough issues was actually a bit of a challenge.

Dar America from the U.S. Consulate funded the workshops, and we collaborated with CorpsAFrica on the framework.  A number of local associations contributed as well. Ouarzazate eNews, a youth journalism organization, covered all of the events. The added elements of journalists and photographers—snapping photos during the workshops and interviewing some of the women—really provided participants with a sense of importance and professionalism.

Individual event highlights:

Zagoura Province:
The women said they never considered before to gather with similar associations to work together or share ideas. Through conversation they discovered they all face the same issues, but on different levels, and can really use each other's help and perspectives. They said that as women in rural Morocco they feel ignored and have no place to discuss their issues. Other topics discussed included poor health care and having to do all the work for their families in harsh natural conditions, as well as violence against women.

Artistic Representations included paintings showing women doing all the farm work, having to trudge through sand dunes to carry harvests, and falling ill with no access to medical care. Youth from Zagoura put on a play about violence against women and families.

Ouarzazate Province:
Ouarzazate is home to a well-established women's association called Oxygene. Oxygene was able to collaborate with very rural and relatively young associations, such as the women from Ouiselsat where women weave carpets for a living and often feel taken advantage of by the vendors (all male) who buy their carpets and sell them at huge markups, with the women seeing none of those profits.  The ability to learn how to articulate this issue was a big benefit to a number of the associations. The women from Taznakht made a carpet especially for this workshop, depicting a woman with her hands up, as if saying "I've had enough of all that I have to deal with!"

Tinghir Province:
Most of the women in Tinghir said they have no place in their communities to discuss their issues and that they had never been to any formal professional event like this before. One woman said she was so nervous/excited she could not keep her legs from shaking!

Artistic representations included a painting from an association in Mcissy, depicting a pregnant woman who had been abandoned by her husband, left to do all of the work providing income for and taking care of her other children.

The organizing committee of these workshops intends to follow up with these associations to see if and how they are using each other’s help.  We hope to offer these workshops again next year and extend that work, bringing all of the women from the individual provinces together for a conference.  

Breaking the Silence about Sexual Harassment: Stories from the Field

Breaking the Silence about Sexual Harassment: Moroccans Speak out!, the three-part video series produced by GlobalGirl Media in partnership with the GAD Committee, addresses the important issue of sexual harassment from the perspective of Moroccan men and women.

Since it was released in November 2013, PCVs across Morocco have been utilizing both the video and the GAD-created toolkit to facilitate meaningful discussions about sexual harassment in their communities. The toolkit includes discussion questions and activities for all three parts of the video, with translations in French and Arabic for working with counterparts.

Over the course of the last few months, several PCVs have had success showing the video and leading the corresponding discussion questions and activities in a variety of settings and with a range of audiences. Mike Maruca, for example, screened the video in the Berkane Dar Chebab with a group of young men and one young woman. Krista Jorstad, also in Berkane, showed the video and facilitated a lively discussion at the local Women’s Center. Down south in Akka, Kate Grey showed the video over the course of 3 Saturdays to a group of girls with great results. Jeff and Jessamyn Yoder showed the video to a mixed-gender group of university students as well as to a group of younger girls at the Nedi Neswi. In Ted Rizzo’s site, an enthusiastic counterpart led a screening and discussion with a group of girls at the local Dar Taliba. Bonnie Torre hosted an event with 75 high school students that has inspired additional events like it in the upcoming months.

Below are the stories and comments from just a few of those who have led successful activities with Breaking the Silence about Sexual Harassment: Moroccans Speak out! in their communities. We hope their experiences will inspire you as much as they have us!

Mike Maruca, Berkane:

On December 19th I screened the GAD movie "Breaking the Silence" video at my Dar Chebab. Last year, I had problems after doing a GAD-themed class on street harassment with my usual English class. Many of them didn't return after that day. I think the main problem was that I taught the class too early in the course. The participants hadn't had enough of an opportunity to bond together beforehand. This year, I have an IYF class which has been meeting for a couple of months, and we'd already done a class on gender roles and stereotypes, which went fairly well.

December 19th is one of the shortest days of the year. Since it gets dark so early, I decided to do a 'Movie Week', hoping in part to kick off a film club (which has not taken off). Each day I showed a movie in the evening. I scheduled the "Breaking the Silence" video for Thursday, when my IYF group was meeting anyway. The majority of viewers and discussion participants were drawn from my class- mainly high-school men and up, with only one young woman participating (and 18 young men). We watched all three parts of the movie, and I led short discussions in between each section, drawing questions from the packet.

Responses were mainly positive. The viewers recognized harassment as a legitimate problem. I got the impression that it was the first time many of the men had actually "heard a woman out" on the subject. One man in particular noted that the idea of expanding safe zones beyond the house and the mosque is silly- people should strive to make entire cities safe zones, not just a particular area.

I had my mudir helping me, another IYF counterpart was on the scene, and my sitemate, Krista Jorstad, was there as well. The young woman who participated later borrowed the film and manual and showed it to a group of women.

In short, the movie screening went well.

Jeff and JessamynYoder, Beni Mellal:

We showed the video Breaking the Silence About Sexual Harassment: Moroccans Speak out! by Global Girl Media to a group of six women and six men at the youth center. The participants were university students between the ages of eighteen and twenty-six, and were all advanced English speakers since they had actually come for our advanced English class. We did not have a counterpart since any counterpart we might have used would have been from this class anyway. In fact, when we later showed the video to another group of girls, a woman from this class helped lead discussion.

    

We watched each part and discussed it over three sessions, so we had plenty of time. Everyone was involved in the discussion, and they all agreed that sexual harassment exists and that it’s a big problem. Some new outcomes were that the men came to see the women’s point of view instead of relying on how they think women feel, and the women came to see that they should stop blaming themselves and each other for sexual harassment. Of course, there were some cringeworthy moments involving stereotypes and assumptions, but the most important thing was that they were excited by the subject and wished to continue dialogue outside of class.

Unfortunately, the participants were not hopeful concerning change in the near future, even when considering new laws on the matter. They understand the cultural barriers, but stated that they are happy to open the discussion and to be sure to call a spade a spade instead of promoting falsehoods, or worse, saying nothing at all.

Bonnie Torre, Zagora:

Mid-January, a student of mine named Khadija was inspired to lead a discussion on sexual harassment after watching the “Breaking the Silence” videos. My site is very conservative—so much so that in the past when I've broached the topic of sexual harassment informally with friends, I have been answered with nothing but awkward silence—and the high level of harassment has been a big struggle for me, so I was both stunned and thrilled when Khadija suggested having such a discussion. Khadija recruited an Islamic studies teacher (who happens to be the only female teacher in my site) to help her on the day of the discussion. The day before the event was to take place, Khadija told me that when she mentioned the event to her (female) neighbors, they urged her to cancel it.

More than 75 high school students came to the event, including some young people who were not students at the high school where it was being held, and boys and girls were represented more or less equally. Khadija made an introductory speech, showed the Breaking the Silence, and began to facilitate the discussion.

Unfortunately, the discussion wasn't exactly productive; in fact, almost immediately, it turned into a screaming match between the boys and the girls. Flying in the face of the idea that the younger generation is supposedly more liberal, every boy who stood up said that girls deserve harassment when they are not wearing hijab. (It should be noted that only one girl present, including myself, had a bare head, yet all the girls had stories about being harassed.) The girls fired back with stories about their personal experiences, and one girl gave an impassioned speech about a two-year-old girl who had recently been raped in my site. We ran out of time and had to continue the event the following week in order to finish. More than 90 kids came to the second part of the discussion.

Although the opinions were very extreme with no crossover between the genders at all, I was absolutely shocked by the number of students who attended and how passionate they were about the subject. Both sides clearly felt very strongly about the issue, and it was very touching to see them get a chance to talk about a subject they normally can't discuss. I believe this was a great first step towards greater compassion and perhaps even change. Even though it does not appear that either the boys or the girls left with a full understanding of how the other side feels, they at least heard each other out.

Khadija was discouraged after the discussions because of how wild they became, but now she is talking about doing another event on sexual harassment, this time without boys. When I asked Khadija why she only wanted girls at the next event, she said, “I want them to break the silence!”

 [Insert Your Name Here, Your Site]

After reading about the great experience these PCVs have had with showing the video, you may be wondering, “Where can I get my hands on that awesome video and toolkit?”

There are many ways you can access these resources. USBs, containing all of the resources in electronic form, are available at the library for you to check out (and return later). Remember, some USBs have already been distributed to PCVs throughout Morocco, so ask your region-mates if they have one you can borrow! Alternatively, the Peace Corps library in Rabat has DVDs and hard copies of the toolkits for you to grab whenever you wish. You can even take some copies for any local associations you think will use them. If you’re still having trouble finding a copy, the resources are also available online on our GAD Maroc Google Drive.

Leadership Training Program for Rural Moroccan Women

In 2013 a group of volunteers implemented a woman’s empowerment and leadership training program called “Taking the Lead: Empowering Women in Rural Morocco.” This program was re-purposed for rural Morocco from “Taking the Lead”, a program originally created by Woman's Leadership Partnership.

“Taking the Lead: Empowering Women in Rural Morocco” sessions are designed to help young Arab women overcome current gender boundaries by helping them believe in themselves, believe in there abilities, and empower them to become leaders in their communities.  The sessions require a strong female counterpart to lead the sessions.  The counterpart facilitates difficult and complicated discussions, and serves the purpose of providing the young women with a positive female role model.

This program was originally led in the Tata region by Margaret Bridges, and implemented by: Kate Gray in Akka, Anastasia Fagan and Laura Evans in Tata, Melanie Warning and Elizabeth Ardent in Tissint, Margaret Bridges and Meredith Stilwell in Issafen.  Recently, Eva Canan implemented the program in Massa, Agadir region.  Below are the experiences and comments of Kate Gray and Eva Canan on “Taking the Lead: Empowering Women in Rural Morocco.”

Want to try this out in your community? Resources for implementing "Taking the Lead" can be found here.

Eva Canan

Massa, Agadir Region

Taking the Lead was a valuable program for the 14 girls and women who participated here in Massa. It provided a space for them to discuss the challenges of being female in their community and society and to see how other leaders throughout the world have faced similar problems and worked toward solutions. They found the examples of leaders such as Asma Khader and Muhammad Yunus inspiring.

While planning, I would recommend reading each of the twelve lessons carefully in order to decide which ones to include. In retrospect, I wish we had done more than six of the twelve sessions. The second half of the program fosters following through on solving problems that were discussed in the first half. Instead of just forming a personal vision statement, they can find common goals and values they share and work on a common project.

The group cohesion and confidence that develop are fun to observe.  During the first session, most of the participants were shy and didn't share their opinions confidently. Soon, however, a group rapport developed and they felt comfortable talking about their shared challenges and experiences. As always, work with a counterpart. The participants really respected and trusted my counterpart, who was the main leader of the sessions. Many of them chose to confide in her about important issues in their lives.

Kate Gray

Akka, Tata Region

This leadership program is a powerful tool for young women. It shows them that it is possible to become a female leader within a community. The Leading to Choices manual and the stories are a great takeaway for young women; it will be something for them to look back on and to reflect upon as they grow into female leaders! The program is also a really great way to engage Moroccan counterparts in leadership. They have the opportunity to play an active role in the planning and implementation of the program, and they have the opportunity to be a leader themselves while inspiring leadership in others.

Overall the program was very successful.  This is because I had two amazing Moroccan female counterparts.  Having a good counterpart is essential to this program.  The program must be taught in Arabic by a women who can lead a group well. My main counterpart was a teacher at the Lycee, so leading a group came natural to her.  I had a second counterpart attend sessions and help with logistics, and when my main counterpart could not lead a session, my second counterpart subbed in.  So having a secondary counterpart will help you manage the program better.

The main problems that arose were typical problems: attendance, starting on-time, and ending on-time. The first week only half of the group showed up, but by the second week we had a full class (I recommend having a group of less than 20 girls). I created an attendance sheet and took attendance each week. I offered an incentive for constant attendance: those girls who missed only 1 session received a prize at the end.  Showing up on time was also a problem.  Our class was every Saturday for 6 weeks from 4-6pm.  Most weeks the girls would show up between 4:15 and 4:45.  We usually started at 4:30. Because we started late most weeks it was difficult to get through each session (we only did the first 6 session out of 12 from the book). The girls wanted to or needed to leave by 6pm. Time management was difficult, and sometimes the sessions were rushed at the end.

Some other tips:

Print out the sessions you will do with the women and make them into a booklet.  Give the girls a booklet inside of a folder, and have then write their names on the folder.  Do not let the girls take the folders home (as they may not bring them back the next week). They can take the folder and booklet home at the end of the program. Also provide pens so that the girls can take notes. Remember to collect the pens at the end of each session.

Have a party at the end and give out attendance prizes and the folders for the girls to take home.  Have some cake, tea, soda, music, and maybe do a creative project together.