Unsung Heroes Interview Number 4: Georgia Morgan

Interview of Georgia Morgan

Georgia Morgan is an American intern at Dar Si Hmad who worked on the

RISE 5.2 semester and piloted the ‘Unsung Heroes of Dar Si Hmad’ Project.

She is on a gap year of service through UNC’s Global Gap Year Fellowship.

Tomorrow is her last day of internship at DSH and we are all going to miss her!

Interview conducted on 20 March 2018.

What is your name and how old are you?

My name is Georgia Morgan and I am 19 years old.

Where are you from?

I am from Cary, North Carolina in the United States.

How long will you be in Agadir?

I’ve been in Agadir for 2 months now, and I’ll be leaving in about a week

and a half for Italy as the last part of my gap year.

Where do you currently go to school?

This August, I will start my studies at the University of North Carolina in

Chapel Hill. I’m not sure what I’ll major in yet, but I am interested in

environmental studies, international relations/ global studies and journalism/

mass communication.

What brought you to Agadir/ DSH?

I am here in Agadir working with Dar Si Hmad as a part of my university’s

Global Gap Year Fellowship. I applied and was accepted to UNC last fall and

decided to apply to this fellowship that allows about 8 rising freshman to do a

year of service abroad before beginning their university education. My goal for

this gap year has been to work with organizations that focus on human rights

and environmentalism. Before coming here, I spent 3 months in Cape Town,

South Africa working with a refugee and migrant organization. Dar Si Hmad

seemed like a perfect second venture, as this organization specifically addresses

human rights and environmental issues and how the two directly impact each other.  

Describe your role at DSH.

Here at Dar Si Hmad, I’ve been heavily involved in the new semester of

RISE, including reading applications, organizing interviews, selecting members,

curriculum design and facilitating/ participating in the actual sessions. It’s

been a lot of fun to meet young Moroccans around my age and learn from

their perspectives on the social issues we’ve been discussing. I’ve also been

in charge of starting this project! When I first arrived to Agadir in January,

this project was proposed to me and I began developing the ideas and goals

of the ‘Unsung Heroes of Dar Si Hmad’. I came up with a list of people to

interview and photograph as well as questions we’d like to ask to gain some

insight into these people’s lives and roles here at DSH. It’s been a lot of fun,

and I’ve enjoyed getting to know everyone further, hearing new stories and

seeing how much Dar Si Hmad’s work and community means to people.

What is your favorite part about coming to DSH?

My favorite part about coming into Dar Si Hmad has been the community,

especially with the RISE sessions. On days we have RISE, there’s always a

lot of people in the office and it’s a very engaging day. I’ve really enjoyed

working with Alex, Natalie, Ayman, Hafida, Sara and Maisie to make this

semester of RISE a reality! On the days we hold sessions, we usually spend

the day preparing and have lunch together which is a lot of fun. Then we come

back together for the actual session, and it’s really great to see all the RISErs

come in smiling and fresh with ideas. Everyone at Dar Si Hmad is so friendly

and generous. I come in every morning and am greeted by Abdallah’s

smiling face, Maisie’s bubbly personality, Soufian’s contagious laugh and every

now and then, our fluffy friend Dandara.  

What is one of your most memorable moments at DSH?

One of my most memorable moments at Dar Si Hmad was on a Wednesday,

and Maisie wanted to go out to lunch to have rfissa in Batoir. Everyone in the

office decided to go, but it was pouring rain outside which is very uncommon

for Agadir. We decided to go anyway, and we had to run through the rain for

about 10 minutes. By time we got to the restaurant we were all soaking wet and

laughing because we felt so silly. We had a great lunch though and devoured

the rfissa. We had good conversation, lots of laughs, delicious food and warm

tea as the rain poured outside. It was just a really fun day and one of my first

adventures with my coworkers.

What is one thing you’d like everyone to know about DSH?

I want everyone to know how truly amazing, impressive and impactful the work done by

Dar Si Hmad is. The office and staff size is all quite small, which makes it even more

impressive when learning about all that this organization has done and continues to

do. The fog project in Aït Baamrane is incredible and has changed the lives of the

people in those villages. Additionally, the Oasis School, Permaculture project,

Ethnographic Field School and RISE Program provide so many opportunities

for not only people in the Aït Baamrane region, but also in Agadir and internationally.

I have learned a lot and been inspired by the incredibly hardworking and passionate

people I’ve worked with and met here through Dar Si Hmad.

Abdellah Zaaboul: Unsung Heroes Interview 3

Interview for Abdellah Zaaboul

Abdellah Zaaboul is a bicycle delivery man who works for Assaka café in Agadir.

He brings bread and tea to Dar Si Hmad almost daily, and will also deliver

delicious tagines for lunch and amazing couscous on Fridays.

If you are in Agadir and are interested in Abdellah’s delicious services,

please call 0661504678 to see if Assaka café’s delectable Moroccan cuisine

can be delivered to you!

What is your name?

My name is Abdellah Zaaboul.

Where are you from?

I am originally from Tiznit, Morocco where my family is currently living.

I go to Tiznit almost every weekend to visit them.

How long have you been in/ lived in Agadir?

I moved to Agadir in 1993, and I have lived and worked here ever since.

What is your occupation?

I work at Assaka café (also known as B’Aaroub) here in Agadir. I don’t have

just one job at the cafe; I play all of the roles depending on where the need is.

Sometimes I will cook, serve, clean and deliver food all in the same day.

I’ve been working here since I moved to Agadir in 1993.

How are you involved with Dar Si Hmad? (Describe “behind the scenes role.”)

And how long have you been involved with Dar Si Hmad?

I deliver food (khobz, atay, tagines, couscous, and more) from Assaka to Dar Si

Hmad on my bicycle. I’ve been delivering food to the office for about 10 months now.

I used to deliver food to people in the area by foot, but I wanted to improve my efficiency

and deliver to more customers in a shorter amount of time. As a result, I had the idea of

delivering on my bike! At first it was challenging, but the more I did it, the more I improved

at carrying the dishes while riding my bike through the city’s traffic.

What is the best part of your day?

The best part of my day is when we finish all of the deliveries, clean up the dishes

and kitchen and leave feeling fulfilled after a hard day of work. It feels great to enjoy

the free moments of the evening after a busy day of satisfying our customers. That’s

the feeling of success.

What is your favorite part about coming to DSH?

Dar Si Hmad is a family, not an office. From the first time I delivered to Dar Si Hmad,

I was impressed by the family environment of the workplace. Everyone here also pays

me right on time or in advance for my services, and I really appreciate that. I never lose

money when I come to Dar Si Hmad. They are very genuine and honest as well; if I

ever forget to collect a payment for a delivery, they are sure to remind me and pay me

in full. The staff here makes me feel so welcome and respected. They will ask me about

my day and talk to me like family. I really enjoy coming into Dar Si Hmad.

What is one of your most memorable moments on the job?

One time on a delivery for a big event, I was on Avenue El Mouqwama by Dar Si

Hmad when a taxi suddenly hit me. I was thrown across the street along with my

bike and all the food I was carrying. It was pretty disastrous, and I ended up almost

breaking my arm. However, this was a very big event that I was delivering to, so I

went back to the café to get more food, made a sling for my arm and managed to

deliver the food to the event that night with my good arm. After I got my bike fixed,

I continued to make deliveries with one arm while my other one was healing in the sling.

I would like to give a special ‘thank you’ to Dar Si Hmad staff member

Abdallah El Moutaouif for assisting in translation and in arranging the

entire interview.

RISE Session 2: Gender & Society

This Blog post is by UNC Global Gap Year Fellow and DSH Intern Georgia Morgan

This week in RISE we discussed the complex social issue of gender. To introduce

the topic, we asked the students to respond to the following writing prompt: “What

are some experiences you have had that led you to realize there were different

expectations for different genders?” After about 15 minutes of thinking and writing,

we shared some of our thoughts. A lot of us had similar stories that shared the

common theme of restricting people of a certain gender in their behavior and what

they were “supposed” to like and dislike. Through our shared experiences, we found

that the expectations for men and women in society were very limiting and even

possible to visualize in boxes -- which led us directly into our next activity.

For the Gender Box activity, we drew two large boxes on the whiteboard, one for men

and the other for women. We then asked the students to come up with the “expected”

or “stereotypical” feelings, behaviors and traits of men and women in society as well as

names for people that don’t fit within those boxes. Overall, the students decided that,

in the views of society, men were supposed to be prideful, strong, smart, emotionless,

dominant and aggressive while women were supposed to be submissive, kind, quiet,

loving, naive, emotional and irrational. Following a short break, we came back together

to reflect on the activity. “What do you notice about the influence of male and female

stereotypes on how men and women are expected to “show up” in the world?” “How

might those stereotypes influence how people think about leaders who behave in ways

that are ‘outside of the box’?” “Does women’s power change if they learn to ‘behave like

a man?’” How do we change these societal expectations? Where do you think these

expectations about gender come from?

We found that, in general, when people behave outside of their corresponding “gender box”,

they are faced with a lot of negativity and judgement, that these stereotypes are a worldwide

issue and are reinforced by things like media and culture, and that the best way to start

changing these societal expectations is to start small and address our expectations of our

family, children, friends and peers based on their gender.

Our final discussion topic was, “is sexual harassment an individual or societal issue?”

which we chose because sexual harassment is a prominent manifestation of these

gender-based societal expectations. There was some back and forth debate, but in the

end, we came to the conclusion that while individuals choose whether or not to harass,

there is an overarching societal pressure that normalizes this behavior without consequence.

The students also voted on their student choice topic session during week 9

which will be the Moroccan educational system! It’s been great to see the students

get more comfortable and open to sharing their personal experiences and voicing

their opinions. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know the RISErs more and build that

closer group dynamic. I’m looking forward to next week’s sessions on immigration

and migration!

 

Unsung Heroes Interview 2: Alex Kochenburger

Alex Kochenburger is a Fulbright intern at Dar Si Hmad from the United States.

What is your name and how old are you?

My name is Alex Kochenburger and I am 22 years old.

Where are you from?

I am from Storrs, Connecticut.

How long have you been in/ lived in Agadir?

I have been living in Agadir for over five months, but I’ve also lived in Rabat and

Meknes in the past.

Where did you graduate from and with what degree?

I graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts with a

Bachelors of Arts in International Studies and Arabic.

What brought you to Agadir/ Dar Si Hmad?

I am in Agadir on a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant grant. I teach English

courses at the Ecole Nationale de Commerce et Gestion (ENCG) and volunteer

at Dar Si Hmad in my free time.

Describe your role at Dar Si Hmad.

At Dar Si Hmad, I am a Rise session instructor. Along with another Fulbrighter

named Natalie Sullivan, I am responsible for designing and teaching the curriculum

for Dar Si Hmad's Rise program. Whereas last semester's Rise program focused

on teaching Agadiri students employability and professional development skills,

this semester's Rise program hopes to provide a space for Agadiri students to

discuss contemporary issues that are relevant to their lives.

What is your favorite part about coming to DSH?

My favorite part about coming in to Dar Si Hmad is having the opportunity to work

with the wonderful students of the Rise program. Throughout my experience as a

Rise instructor, I have been unfailingly impressed by the students' work ethics,

senses of humor and dedication to learning.  

What is one thing you’d like everyone to know about DSH?

I would want everyone to know that Dar Si Hmad is full of innovative and

energetic employees that are always looking for new ways to implement diverse

projects in southern Morocco. Aside from Dar Si Hmad's flagship fog harvesting

plant, the organization also runs an Oasis School, an Ethnographic Field School,

a center for language and research and the Rise program.

What is one of your most memorable moments at DSH?

One of my most memorable moments with Dar Si Hmad was last semester's

Rise closing ceremony. Not only did we Rise instructors take the opportunity

to embarrass ourselves, but it was also very fulfilling to celebrate the end of a

great program with our students.