Six students will travel to the remote highlands of central Morocco this month as part of a service trip to tutor children learning English and to observe firsthand how residents of the impoverished region are developing profitable cottage industries.
“Appreciating any culture is of value, especially in this current era,” Phil Smith, assistant chaplain and director of religious life at Elon, said of a program he is co-advising. “And there’s something to be learned from this trip in our attempt to deal with poverty in our own country.”
The group, led by students Tiffany Williams-Cobleigh and Matt White, leaves the United States on June 20 and returns July 1. Smith, Williams-Cobleigh and a third Elon student – junior Shane Morris, who is currently studying in Jordan – traveled to Morocco last year to seek out local schools and agencies with which to partner for the 2008 trip.
Much of the time will be devoted to mentoring, but one day will also be set aside to learn how women in a nearby village were able to develop their own sustainable co-op business – weaving rugs made with wool sheared from the very herd of sheep they maintain.
“An annual service trip to Morocco is important because it is an experience that many students would never have otherwise. We send so many people to places like London and Costa Rica, but who goes to Morocco?” Williams-Cobleigh said. “I have never felt more like an outsider and yet so welcomed in my life. The language, religion, dress, culture, and just about everything in Morocco is different than what I am used to, but the people are so kind and hospitable, some of the nicest people I’ve ever met.”
The Elon group has scheduled a day of aviation-themed activities at a local school for children with hearing impairments. The school is supported by the Lions International Foundation.
Smith is joined on the trip by co-adviser Rebeca Olmedo, an assistant professor of Spanish.
“Students going on this trip will take away so much from this experience including better insight into another culture, a greater appreciation of Islam, experience in working with children from another country, and a humbling experience visiting the community of Tarmilat,” Williams-Cobleigh said. Tarmilat is where the impoverished area outside Ifrane where the rug-weaving industry has developed.
“This trip is valuable not only to the people we serve and interact with but also the participants through the experiences and memories they take away with them.”