3 days of Volunteer Placement

My first day of volunteer work was at the University, teaching conversational English to Chemistry PhD students.  Turns out that the PhD class is very small - only 1 student - so I was really glad that another volunteer went with me! We asked him what he would like to focus on during our time here, and he just wants to practice conversation.  His English speaking skills are quite advanced, so we just spent time talking and getting to know one another.  When I couldn't think of anything to talk about, Jennifer (my co-volunteer) would jump in with questions.  It was actually pretty difficult to fill up an hour and 45 minutes with conversation!  When we meet with him next time, we will be bringing some articles to discuss or have other topics of conversation planned.  All in all, I think it was a good first day.

In the afternoon, after lunch, we had a two hour discussion about Morocco at the home base.  Mohammed, the CCS Country Director for Morocco, gave a little bit of a lecture but mostly allowed us to ask whatever questions we wanted to ask.  It was a very interesting and lively session!  I learned a lot about the country and am really looking forward to more sessions like this. 

After that, four of us decided to go into town and explore the medina on our own.  It was crazy and a lot like the Stone Town in Zanzibar.  Thankfully, the medina in Rabat is a lot less pressure than those in more touristy areas, such as Marrakesh.  It was crowded, but we were able to walk around and look at all the cool stuff without being hassled.  We made our way through the medina to the beach and a little boardwalk area where we had a yummy dinner for really cheap!

Second day of placement (yesterday) was different - we had Master's level students this time, and it was a class of 11!  They were a lot more lively and competitive, and the activities we had planned went much faster than we thought they would.  Their English speaking skills were definitely not as advanced as our PhD student's, but many of them are still able to easily communicate with just a little help.  Jennifer and I were scrambling to think of more to teach/talk about, so we definitely need to prepare better for upcoming classes.  It was a fun group, but it's stressful being a teacher!  I have that much more respect for all of you teachers out there.

After placement the volunteers went on a "field trip" with the CCS staff - Abdullah took us to the medina and several other tourist sites, such as the old kasbah, the ruins of an unfinished mosque, and the King's tombs.  It was awesome!  Rabat has a lot of history and some beautiful sights.


Today our University students had a conference, so we did not teach. Instead, I spent the morning at the local orphanage helping take care of the children.  It was really heart wrenching.  Culturally, children born out of wedlock in Morocco bring huge amounts of shame to the woman who bears the child (and her family).  Most of the kids who end up in the orphanage are abandoned because they were the result of adultery. 

The orphanage was actually a nice facility by local standards, but the standard of care for these children is atrocious. Healthy children tend to get adopted pretty quickly (it's a six month adoption process, and three or four adoptive parents were there today playing with their soon-to-be-kids).  But most of the kids in the orphanage have some sort of disability and, unfortunately, the kids with special needs tend to spent their entire lives in the orphanage.  Some were in their 20s or 30s and have been there since birth.  It was incredibly sad - I've never before seen human bodies so contorted and mangled from disease.  And beyond their physical disabilities, the standard of care at the orphanage was really rather disgusting.  Several of the wheelchair-bound kids had skin infections, none of the kids ever get their teeth brushed so they all have rotting teeth, and perhaps the saddest part was the diapers.  Because the orphanage has very little money, they only allow each child three diapers per day.  One when they wake up, one after lunch, and one before bed.  That's it.  It doesn't matter if the kid needs more, they just have to sit in it.  And because they don't want the kids to pee very much, they aren't given any liquids at all; they are fed three meals but get no water or beverages.

I was helping with the three year olds, and given two kids to watch for the morning.  One, Emande (probably spelled that wrong,) was an adorable little girl who wanted to be held all the time.  I feel confident that she will be adopted soon - she is really cute and playful and calls everyone "mama" (including me).  The other child, whose name I do not know, was a wheelchair-bound little boy.  I don't know exactly what is wrong with him, but he is severely disabled and disfigured, unable to walk, see or communicate.  I don't think anyone had picked him up out of his wheelchair to just hold him in ages.  He was so happy to just have me pick him up for a while.  It really broke my heart to be there and see the lives of these abandoned kids.

Here are some pictures for you.  In order, they are: 1) the ceiling of the King's tomb, 2) looking down into the King's tomb onto his grave, 3) wall detail in the King's tomb, 4) fancy gold thing outside of the King's tomb, 5) man on a horse outside the King's tomb, 6) an orange juice stand in the medina where they juice the orange for you and give you the MOST DELICIOUS glass of orange juice you've ever had in your life!, 7) me rocking the kasbah, 8, 9 & 10) inside the kasbah, 11) the entrance to the kasbah, 12) a neat door, 13) an alley in the medina, 14) the Rabat port/river/beach, 15) a view of the kasbah from the beach, 16 & 17) looking up in the medina, 18) A VIDEO FOR BUDDY!