September is flying by, just like August did. The new group of Morocco trainees arrived this last week (Welcome to Morocco guys!), so we are no longer the newest kids here. The new group is half Small Business Development and half Youth Development. It’s fun for us to think back (not that far ago…) and remember what we were thinking and feeling when we got here. We haven’t been here for very long…but we’ve come a long way and done a lot of learning.

This past week, I (Jana) participated in a training for the Volunteer Support Network. It is a volunteer run group that is, well, exactly what it sounds like! :) Whoever is interested can sign up to go to the training, where you learn about issues that volunteers typically deal with, the “cycle” of volunteer life (there is a certain pattern of ups and downs that has been documented that most of us go through during our service), and a basic outline of a counseling session. We are obviously not professionals after this weekend, but we are able to do some kick-butt listening, and hopefully lead a volunteer through the steps to devise their own solution to their problem (if necessary – sometimes they just need someone to listen!). What we were learning was really interesting, and it’s a good feeling to know that you are prepared to help someone out if they need it. Our names now will go on a list of trained volunteers that people can call or e-mail if they want to talk, and we can assist in future trainings, if needed.

So, what else do we do here besides play with the cat and make tea? Our jobs right now (for the first few months or so…) are to learn the language, get to know the community, and start thinking about and planning for the work we’d like to do here. We learn oodles of stuff in training, but it’s only when we get to our community that we see what of all we learned will be useful and relevant. So, we’ve been here for a bit, and here is some of the stuff we are thinking about….of course, all of it is dependent upon whether there is interest in the community and various community members coming forward to get involved, etc. We always have to remember not to get too far ahead and excited about our own ideas that we just go ahead with them on our own. Our job is to bring new perspective, and find and bring together people and resources in the community to make things happen. We aren’t really the do-ers – we should be facilitators or co-trainers, etc. It is a tougher role, and takes longer, but leaves the community in a richer place than if we just did it ourselves… Anyways, back to the ideas…

1. Traditional Birth Attendant Training – Many of the women in our area, whether due to finances, distance to the hospital, or tradition, give birth at home, assisted by women in the community who are known to assist with birth, but generally have no formal training. PCV’s have done trainings going over things such as good hygiene practices, when to refer women to the hospital, HIV/AIDS, etc.

2. Men’s and Women’s Health Talks – Many of the issues in health are things that this culture would not be comfortable talking about in mixed gender groups. We are considering ways to meet, perhaps with women’s craft groups or the men’s associations to do health talks that could be about one issue, or perhaps cover a range of isssues.

3. Teaching Health in Schools – Many volunteers have done this and been really successful! Teaching health to kids is a great way to get the whole family involved, get to know your community, impact the future – good stuff. :)

4. Health lessons to those waiting at the local health clinic

5. Painting Murals – Another classic PCV activity. It’s a great way to leave a lasting health message, but also get people from the community involved in planning and creating!

This isn’t everything we’re thinking of, but we wanted to say a little bit about our work, since it is starting to get off the ground a little. We know that this is a lot of ideas, but also know that a lot of things will fall by the wayside. Some things may be fine ideas, but there isn’t community interest. There may be things that we think are great, but are misguided and won’t work for this community. Some things it just isn’t the right time for… so, we’re going with the have a lot of ideas and see what pans out approach.
:)

That’s all for now! Ramadan is coming though… September 24th…. stay tuned…