All this work...and no play?

Excursion to the countryside of Larache-Ain Khamasa

As the students had worked so hard in the last week, we decided to reward them with a trip to Ain Khamasa, a natural source some 15 kilometers from Larache.

Actually, the spring itself is source of legend. It was apparently built, (or at least the housing structure that we see now) by a Spanish man in the 19th century. Apparently, this man searched all over Europe for a cure to a certain skin affliction without being to find a cure. He heard talk of a spring in Morocco where the waters could cure such a thing, came and of course...the water cured him. As a show of gratitude he erected the structure that now protects the spring.

This is Seloua, our fearless instructor for the chapters 3,4, and 5 in the course.

After a heated game of soccer it was the time to get down to some cooking. The kitchen squad wasted no time beginning to preparar the tajines.

Some worked while others a little tired, could not resist the urge to take a snooze in the afternoon shade.

And....its the moment! The chefs present the exquisite dishes they have prepared, barbecue fish tajines.

Spending the afternoon together, in this beautiful place, getting to know each other better.

The Problem Tree

Workshop "The Problem Tree"

After finishing with the first two parts of the course, we continue our study into socio cultural animation.

In this part of the training course we are studying Analysis of Reality. Again translation does not do me much justice, so while I search for a better word, I could sum it up as all the things that we use to analyze a particular place where we want to work. In order to begin any type of social work, of course it is necessary to do a further investigation into the area where you are going to work. That would be the general idea for this module.

During the instruction of Analysis of Reality the students learned...
0. How to conduct an observation of a particular area/place of study.
0. How to design a questionnaire.
0. Proper techniques when asking people to fill out a questionnaire.
0. Different types of interviews.
0. Research of government sources and resource materials.

The students themselves created a questionnaire and were responsible with interviewing people on the street at random about education here in Morocco. This was done to help us prepare for what was the biggest part of this part of the course, The Problem Tree. As for anyone working in a social field, we are always confronted with various problems in our society. Now in order to guide these into a project we have to a good understanding of the chain of cause and effect of the various problems that are present in the area we want to work in. For this we use the problem tree:
To help with the instruction of the Problem Tree we relied on the assistance of a team of specialists from Spain.


Here they are:Thanks for all the help guys!!! You did a great job!

The Bridge

The Bridge

Today’s class has served as a summary of all the material that we have been working on during the last month. Over this period we have been focusing on such things like:

• the responsibility of the monitor as a transmitter of knowledge, attitudes, and abilities,
  
• the monitor and the group
  
• how to perform an evaluation
  
• the difference in the capabilities of the individual versus the group
  
• communication,
  
• problem solving,
  
• team work,
  
• the role of the individual in society,
  
• and other basic concepts of sociocultural animation
  

The material during this first month is of utmost importance as it is going to serve as the guidelines that will carry us throughout the duration of the course.

As a final activity to recap all the learned during the last three weeks the instructor created an activity ,The Bridge, as a way to regroup all the material in a way that is entertaining, creative, and productive.

The Bridge works like this:

There are two villages. These two villages are separated by a river. This river has made communication between the two villages difficult, practically impossible. The students are divided into the two villages. Each village is given a carton box, scissors and two meters of string. The objective of the activity is to construct with the given materials a bridge that crosses the river. The two villages, of course, cannot communicate drectly with each other, each village is permitted to send two letters to the other village and permitted two meetings between the designated representatives of the two villages.

The activity demands concentration, dialogue between the group, team work, division of responsibilities, oral and written communication, not to mention some creativity. It was a fantastic way to bring to an end the first two parts of the course. In the end, both groups used the concepts learned in the first three weeks of class to solve the task and successfully completed the bridge although it wasn’t perfect it was strong enough to pass the test.


Village Number One
Village Number TwoThe First Letter

Planning the bridge...Meeting of the two villages

And Voila...The Bridge