Because it is supposed to be an English immersion camp, the ministry called on Peace Corps to provide access to native English speakers. In exchange for us volunteering as counselors, the ministry graciously provides each volunteer three scholarship spots to bring kids from our own towns/villages. This is a two-fold benefit: 1. two out of three of my scholarship kids, have never traveled outside our town, and none of them have gotten to go to a cool camp like this. I imagine this is true for almost all the kids brought by PCVolunteers. 2. The kids from the "big city" learn about their fellow countrymen who may come from towns and villages the Rabat/Casa kids have never heard of and live lives so different that it's difficult to imagine they're from they same country.
After the photos are a few stories of things I witnessed that made me laugh and warmed my heart.
Miriam at the Supermarket: Erika and I are the only Youth Development PCVs in our province, so together we had six kids. Because our province is just about as far away as you can get from El Jadida, our six rode an overnight bus and were some of the first kids to arrive the first morning of camp. Erika and I decided that we had time to kill so we took them to the LaBel Vie supermarket to get some snacks. Not only was it probably their first time in a grocery story, but LaBel Vie is a really fancy store. Miriam, one of Erika's, took one look at the escalator we were about to get on and a look of “WHAT THE HECK IS THIS THING?!” flashed in her eyes. She didn't say a word, likely just to save face, but as soon as she stepped onto the escalator, she stumbled a little and then held on with two hands, nervously giggling the whole way down. The way back up we took the elevator. She didn't know where we were going when we stepped into this strange little room and pushed some buttons. She didn't seem to like when it moved because she didn't know what was happening but no word other than shock could describe the look on her face when the elevator doors opened and she was standing in front of a scene completely different from where we'd left. I felt like we were showing her the future.
Brahim and the Ocean: Brahim, dubbed as the “gentle giant” by the PCVolunteers who were at camp that session, is a participant that PCV Yusuf brought to camp with him. A luxury of the camp being in El Jadida is that the kids get to go to the beach everyday. Brahim, like most of the kids who were brought by PCVs, had never been to the ocean. The majority of them were scared of the water and almost none knew how to swim. Brahim, in particular, was adamant that the ocean water was unhealthy and would give you skin diseases. He refused to get in. At least on day one. Day two came along and somehow he had silently made the decision to “get in.” He stood there with his feet in the water and would go no further. Day three: Brahim jumped in the water, splashing and swimming in the waves with the rest of the kids! Every day after that you would never have been able to tell that Brahim had once been convinced that the ocean would make him, and everyone else, sick.
If I told you all the wonderful stories of minds being opened and friendships formed during camp, this blog would never end. Each volunteer could tell you stories of their own kids' transformations and joys from camp. I'll leave you with a picture of me and my friend Mohammed VI. I am looking forward to camp again next year and hopefully by then I'll be able to find some girls whose fathers will let them attend with me.
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