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.