Moroccan Identity: First RISE Session

By Dar Si Hmad intern and UNC Global Gap Year Fellow Georgia Morgan

Our first real week of the new RISE semester was a great success discussing the

topic of identity and stereotypes in Morocco. The students arrived excited and eager

to begin the new semester. Only a couple people arrived late and had to show off their

dance moves in front of the class.

We began the session with each student signing the contract they

discussed during orientation on the type of environment they wanted for

RISE and the kind of respect and open mindedness they hoped to maintain.

We then began our first activity as an introduction to identity. Around the room

were different identity cards posted on the wall that included different aspects

of one’s identity such as gender identity, religion, financial status, nationality,

race, sexual preference, family relationships, career goals, political beliefs,

physical appearance and a blank card for any aspect of identity not listed.

We then asked the group questions such as “What is the part of your identity

that you are most/ least aware of on a daily basis?” and asked each member

to walk to the card that they felt best answered the question for them. Everyone

including our facilitators participated, and each person had the opportunity to

share why they chose their answer. Some questions were very challenging
while others were easier for people to answer.

It was really interesting for me to participate too, as I learned a lot about myself

in the process! The activity made me reflect a lot more in depth about my own

identity and think about what I am more/ less aware of about myself. I also really

enjoyed hearing what the RISErs had to say about their experiences and it was

interesting to see the similarities and differences between American and Moroccan
experiences as well as male and female experiences.  

After the activity and debrief, we had the creative writing portion of the program where
the RISErs responded to the following prompt: “What does identity mean to you?
After completing this activity, what do you believe are the most significant parts of
your identity?”

Dar Si Hmad’s executive director, Jamila Bargach, joined the last half of the RISE

session to discuss jokes about Moroccan stereotypes. Some of the jokes were

very silly while others proved to be a bit risqué and problematic. Everyone enjoyed

a good laugh, but it was important to discuss why we found these jokes funny.

What did these jokes say about Moroccan identity and culture? Who was telling

these jokes? We discussed the ‘standardized’ point of view from which these

jokes were told and explored that while they do initially make us laugh, they can be
dangerous because they reinforce stereotypes and normalize bias.

We are very optimistic about the rest of this semester based on the

RISErs impressive engagement and participation this week. Next week

we will be discussing gender and society and are looking forward to those discussions.  

RISE Orientation Session

By DSH Intern Sara Saba

Last Wednesday and Thursday, we had our very first RISE sessions

of the semester! Although they were just orientations to introduce our

participants to the program, the energy was high, and everyone seemed

very excited for the coming weeks. Wednesday’s session was led by Alex

and Hafida, and Thursday’s by Natalie and Ayman, both assisted by Maisie,

Georgia and Sara. The session began with an introduction to Dar Si Hmad

and a presentation about the fog project by Maisie, followed by an explanation

of the lesson plan for the next 10 weeks.

A fun RISE policy for late-comers is that they have to dance in

front of the class. On Wednesday, only one person was late, and

the class enjoyed his dancing very much. On Thursday, there

were quite a few late comers, who happily danced to Lady Gaga

as they arrived throughout the class. After the background on Dar

Si Hmad, we then re-energized with a fun name game, where we

went around the circle, and said our names and a descriptive adjective

beginning with the same letter as our names. This definitely presented

a challenge for people whose names begin with letters like “I” or “O”

(we got intelligent and outstanding).

After a short break, we regrouped to discuss and develop the ethical

constitution for this RISE semester. The participants were mostly self

guided in this, given only small helpful suggestions by our staff and interns.

They decided on several important mandates, such as practicing active

listening, having open minded discussions, talking without interrupting, positive

attitudes, among others. We were very impressed with their abilities to work

together and develop their ethical constitution as a group. We also discussed their

individual learning goals for this RISE session, and asked participants to share

some goals they had.  Common answers included developing critical thinking

skills, working on public speaking, communicating better in English and learning

about other people’s ideas. We hope to address all of these learning goals in the

coming weeks. Next week, we will officially begin our discussions, starting with

Moroccan Identity and Stereotypes.

Dar Si Hmad's Unsung Heroes, First Interview: Sara and Mohamed

Dar Si Hmad’s new ‘Unsung Heroes’ Project aims to highlight the people that work behind the scenes to help the office run on a daily basis. While the staff at Dar Si Hmad work hard everyday to develop and implement the organization’s many projects, there are additional members behind the scenes that bring light, laughter, determination, order, and passion to the office. The goal of this project is to give recognition to these additional team members in a fun and creative way. We will be conducting interviews and photography sessions with some of these members, including: current interns, our language instructors, homestay families, cleaning and food delivery personnel, furry friends and more!

Interview of Sara and Mohamed Lamghari

Sara and Mohamed Lamghari are homestay host siblings for international interns

at Dar Si Hmad. They are currently hosting American intern Georgia Morgan.

• What are your names and how old are you?

My name is Sara Lamghari and I am 13 years old, and my name is Mohamed Lamghari

and I am 14 years old.

• How long have you lived in Agadir?

We were both born in Agadir, and we’ve lived here our whole lives. Our parents are

from the town Tafraout.

• What are your favorite school subjects & hobbies?

Mohamed- My favorite subjects at school are math and physics. I like these subjects

because they are logical. I enjoy playing football with my friends. I also love to listen

to music. Lartiste is my favorite musician.

Sara- My favorite subjects at school are science and technology. I like science

because I want to be a doctor when I am older. I like technology because it is fun

to me. My hobbies are kickboxing, chess and football. I also like the musician Lartiste,

and I like to watch Parodies Bros on YouTube.

• What do you like about hosting international students?

Mohamed- When we have people stay with us, we go outside more to show them

around the city. When it is just us, it’s easy to just stay inside and play games or

watch television, so I like having them [international students] stay with us because

we go out and have fun.

Sara- Everyone that we have hosted has been very friendly. I like going to the

beach, walking and eating at restaurants together with my guests. I love playing

chess and baking with you [Georgia]. I would also go for runs and bake with my

previous host siblings, and I enjoyed that.

• Do you have any funny stories from hosting international students?

Mohamed- One time Sara, Georgia, my mother and I were driving home and I had

the best idea for a prank. I just got this toy snake from a party, and I decided to scare

my mother. When the car came to a stop, I put the toy snake on the emergency brake.

When my mother reached for it to park the car, she screamed and ran out of the car.

Sara and I ran out of the car too and could not stop laughing. It was the best prank ever.

Sara- Mohamed thinks it’s funny to crack eggs on my head, so one time right after

he took a shower, I surprised him and cracked an egg on his head. It was so funny,

but a couple of minutes later he got me back and cracked one on my head too!

• What have you learned from your host siblings?

Mohamed- I learned about the stars and constellations in the night sky from you [Georgia].

I like how we go up on the terrace at night sometimes and talk about them. We have also

had some philosophical conversations about the past, present and future which I find very interesting.

Sara- I’ve learned that Americans don’t eat as much as Moroccans do. There are also

some weird foods that you [Georgia] eat, like the oats with hot water and banana [oatmeal].

I’ve also noticed that you [Georgia] sleep early sometimes. Sophie, our guest from last

year, taught me how to bake muffins and pancakes.

 

Oasis School, Module 4

Our Oasis school team is still hard at work teaching our beneficiaries innovative  

techniques and practices to better serve the land of Ait Baamrane.

This program reached its fourth Module on Insect Hotels and Bird-Feeder,

which contained a number of interesting activities where the students learned

new skills.

During the first session on Insect Hotels the students went on a journey to the “tiny”

world of invertebrates and other odd creatures. As a result they started to investigate

all their cool features, the role they play in the ecosystem, and to understand where

they live, in order to replicate a micro-climate for the insect hotel. The

beneficiaries also went on an outdoor walk for insect-hunting and built a wooden

insect hotel -- a winter lodging for our Oasis School garden- for crawling and

flying bugs.  The hotel consisted of different suites catered to each little bug’s preferred

lodging taste. Most hotels are constructed with a strong protective frame of wooden

boards or pallets and are filled with a variety of bug-friendly materials like

straw, cork, sticks, or pinecones. Our students contributed to assembling the

hotel boxes and parts, and watched a movie to follow-up; “Guerre et paix

dans le potager - Partie II,” a humorous and original narrative documentary

about the extraordinary adventures of the creatures of the Aublanc-Fiche family garden.

During the Bird-Feeder session, the students made a bird feeder and had the

opportunity to discuss bird habitats and their needs. This session was more

of an observational session. Students learned the importance of feeding birds

especially in the winter as they lack food and intend to migrate.  

The sessions during this module were not only informative but also fun

and interesting. They helped connect our beneficiaries with the nature surrounding

them, learn new things about its components and question their role in the life cycle.

The Oasis School team as well as the beneficiaries are always grateful for this precious learning opportunity funded by the U.S department and AIEF Grant.  

Preparing for RISE Spring Semester!

By DSH Intern and UNC Global Gap Year Fellow Georgia Morgan:

A new semester of RISE is just around the corner, and we couldn’t be more excited
here at Dar Si Hmad! Previous semesters of RISE focused on employability and
professional skills, but this new semester will provide young Moroccans with a space
to openly talk about traditionally taboo topics, enhance their public speaking and
debate skills, and have a space to creatively express their ideas. The new semester
will begin 28 February and 1 March and will be led by Fulbright interns Alex Kochenburger
and Natalie Sullivan, in addition to Moroccan interns Hafida Mazoud and Ayman Taleb,
American intern Georgia Morgan, and Dar Si Hmad Staff Maisie Breit and Soufian Aaraīchi.

This semester of RISE will focus on discussing social and global issues and how they
play out in Moroccan society today. Discussion topics will include identity, freedom of choice,
migration, gender, the environment, and a student-chosen topic. The goal of this program is
to provide a safe and welcoming space for the students to engage in difficult discussions
on these topics, and to learn from one another's ideas and opinions.

Students will begin each session with a writing prompt and can expand on one of these
topics as a part of a personal final project. Final projects can be a song, performance,
dance, poem, painting, speech, story extended creative writing piece, or something a
student devises. RISE participants will also practice their public speaking skills in the
form of a personal speech and a group debate on a specific social issue.

Our applicants demonstrated passion, specific goals, and innovative ideas last week in
their interviews, and we were impressed by their enthusiasm to be a part of the RISE
program. It was exciting and inspiring to see motivated and aware young adults who
are eager to bring their energy to this group. This past week, the Dar Si Hmad team
has been working to arrange the program’s schedule and lesson plans for the upcoming
orientation. We are eager to begin the new semester of RISE and to see where the
students take each session.

Some of the RISE Team hard at work planning for the upcoming semsester!

Oasis School -- Third Module

The Oasis School curriculum consists of a variety of theoretical and practical activities, which help the
beneficiaries apply and practice the new permaculture techniques they acquire during the planned sessions.
Module 3 introduced our beneficiaries to a whole new set of concepts and fun activities focused on Plant
Evolution. Students learned about Seed Germination and then about Seed Plantation.

During the first session, Seed Germination,  the students learned about the growth of a seed into a young
plant, or germination. Students tasted germinated lentil seeds and did an interactive lesson on the
conditions required for germination, like water, warmth, and oxygen.  At the end of the session,
students conducted a ‘Seed Germination Experiment’ to witness the evolution of seeds themselves.

In our second session, Seed Plantation, the students did an outdoor activity to  observe seed typology,
learning about different characteristics of seeds around their school and the vegetables seeds that they
planted in the Oasis School garden.

Our OS curriculum not only teaches techniques but also soft skills like leadership and teamwork.
During the sessions we noticed that our beneficiaries for the first time felt responsible for planting
seeds and taking care for the plants on a daily  basis, as well as reporting their observations and
progress to the Oasis school team at the end of their school vacation.

Our beneficiaries learned a lot of techniques and methodology this week, which will help them
articulate the needs of their land. Thanks to the continuous support of the U.S State Department
and the AIEF grant, they are able to learn and grow!