Improve Rural Moroccan Schools: Sami's Project

My name is Nic, and I am an 18-year-old student from the United States. Today is my third day in Morocco, where I am working with the High Atlas Foundation in Marrakech. Before coming here, and leaving my home behind, it was difficult to imagine what my time abroad would be like. I did not know of the curving narrow streets of the Medina or the controlled chaos of the great avenues. The sheer vivacity of the city can be overwhelming for a newcomer. Yet, while I travelled here alone, the HAF community has welcomed me into their midst with open arms from the first moment I walked through their door. This attitude, of warmth and openness, seems the standard here. Moroccan communities, like the one I have already been generously inducted into, appear to be built on the backs of shared experience, empathy, and care for those around you. Everyone is a brother or a sister, and anonymity within the throngs of people who walk, run, ride, and drive through the streets of Marrakech, dissolves as quickly as the fog from your breath in the cold January air.

There is still much for me to see and do here. Whether it is relaxing under the shade of exotic plants in the Majorelle Gardens, traversing the sprawling stalls of the Jama El f’na, or walking the halls of the many great palaces in the southern part of the Medina, I want to know the spirit of this place.

Tomorrow I have the opportunity to see first-hand the High Atlas Foundation’s work in action, when I travel with staff and other volunteers to a rural mountainous community to plant fruit trees. I am excited to take part in this initiative committed to alleviating poverty and tackling the imminent threat of climate change and global warming. I also look forward to hearing the individuals of this community speak about their desires, concerns, aspirations, and goals in future partnership with HAF.

I hope to keep you all updated as my journey continues to unfold, and I get even closer to Morocco and its wonderful people!