Asni 2016 report

D1 CAS TRIP

2016 ASNI - MOROCCO In collaboration with The Kindred Project 13th-18th March 2016

Promoting education as a force for good by enabling and empowering the voice of youth

This is the 9th trip to Asni for the D1 students, a key part of the IB Creativity, Action and Service Program (CAS) at SIS, which directly supports Association Tiwizi.

This trip does not only enable the D1 students to meet their CAS outcomes, but most importantly it offers a unique experience that develops intercultural understanding and community action. All 32 students got directly involved in working hand-in-hand with the Asni community members, engaged in new challenging experiences and built new friendships.

SIS and The Kindred Project are enormously grateful for these unique opportunities and friendships that Association Tiwizi and the community of Asni continue to give us, year after year.

“Everyone in Asni will always have a piece of my heart.”

Vittoria Moracce, D1 student.

“It’s just simply amazing to explain a trip like this to Asni. I’ve got no more words to explain what I feel.”

Sarah El Hidraoui, D1 student

“It´s not just about money, it is also about sharing knowledge...¨ Mr Wickersham, CAS Coordinator

On board the Marrakech Express on our way to Asni

Arriving at Tangier Port

Sorting all the donations on arrival to the Association – later to be handed out to the local school, boarding house and families.

Association Tiwizi is a Moroccan non-governmental association created in 1998, which works in the areas of socio-economic development, environmental protection and capacity building.

Association Tiwizi also meets the social and economic needs of the rural local community of Asni, as well supporting the development of cultural and sporting activities.

Sotogrande International School and the Kindred Project have been working closely with Association Tiwizi since 2007.

Getting stuck into the cooking!

For more information visit www.associationtiwizi.com

Working on the Garden at the Maternity Home

Where the money went… v Acquisition of 100g of organic saffron produced by the Association:

€500 v Development of Educational projects at the Atlas High School: €1.000 v Professional Development workshops for Association Tiwizi’s staff (English language, IT skills, etc.): €2.000 v Printer & scanner for the girls boarding house: €274 v School resources for the girls boarding house and local children: €245 v Sports equipment: €120 v Library project construction & others: €161 v Local income generating activities: € (henna, camels, etc.): €140 v Clothes donations & mapping treks for sustainable tourism development.

€4.440 DONATED!!!

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A day spend in Asni

By Tia Rolph, D1 student The experiences that all of us have shared together today have been amazing. This morning we visited the local maternity house to learn a little about the reality that women in the area face. Straight after, we got involved in some garden activities. We then stopped at the girls’ boarding house for a surprise Berber wedding. Some of the Sotogrande students were dressed in traditional bridal wear and Fatima, the director of the boarding house, explained the customs and traditions of a Berber wedding. The boarders joined in the fun with singing and drumming. It was great!

After another delicious lunch, it was time for our expedition: the long 4-5 hour trek, as hard as it was, gave us a great opportunity to speak to new people and take in the spectacular views of the Atlas mountains.

Later on in the day, people rode camels and their faces when the camels stood up and lay down were hilarious, as I’m sure you can imagine! After the camels, we invited the local children to the community centre where we are staying. We communicated in ways that I think many of us have never done so before: playing educational games and having the children teach us how to make bracelets was amazing. We had 6 to 8 children per table with 3 or 4 of us showing the children what to do and how to do it, and having them show us. It was so much fun! The smiles on their faces when we told them they could keep the pens and the paper to colour in with and draw things was great. It’s something that has made this Asni trip spectacular.

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Camel Riding!

Educational Activities with the local children

Building ´Life´s Library´ in the Secondary High School

Trekking in the High Atlas Mountains

The Annual Football Match Atlas High School 0 SIS 1

The winning save!

Intercultural exchange with the students in the Secondary High School

Female Hygiene talk in the girls boarding house

Preparing and cooking a goat

The final day spent in Imlil, village in the High Atlas Mountains

The annual after-party at the Association.

Drums and Dance!

A Memory from Lucía Mier Portillo - D1 student “The girls from the Boarding House gave me something… They gave me a new dream to accomplish. I hope that in the future, when I hopefully become successful in what I do, I create a project called The Children of the World, where I will give young girls that have their liberties taken away from them, a brand new future; to give them the opportunity to study abroad and see the world.

I hope its more than just a dream!¨

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THANK YOU! Trips like this do not happen easily... We owe the following people a HUGE thank you! ∗ Hassan Edderjoun for having the initial idea and dream to create Association Tiwizi, which today brings joy to our students, as well as hundreds of the local children. ∗ Pete Lawrence, for creating the relationship that SIS has with Hassan today and supporting the D1 students live the reality of the “Saffron Project” at SotoRox. ∗ The staff at Association Tiwizi for your endless enthusiasm and caring nature. ∗ The staff and pupils at the Atlas High School for their extremely warm welcome, presentations and the invaluable time spent with our students. ∗ Fatima and the girls at Tigmi N’Isti boarding house for the fun and laughter during the Moroccan Wedding ritual as well as their time, patience and interaction during the female hygiene talk. ∗ The 32 incredible students who took on this venture, with courage, smiles and a lot of ´inshallah´ to really connect with the local community both within the Association and within Asni itself. This really was life changing. For all of us! ∗ To the entire SIS community… students, staff and parents for supporting SIS’ and KP’s global citizenship values and fundraising inis throughout the entire year. We couldn’t do it without you!

“I’m extremely happy I came here and I feel like this is something I will remember for the rest of my life.”

Katerina Berezhna, D1

KP’s mission is to promote education as a force for good by enabling and empowering the voice of youth as agents of positive change within their communities and beyond.

To achieve this, KP is currently working on a fouryear project called Force for Good, involving different community partners in Ecuador, Morocco, Spain and Uganda. This project aims to support these communities in overcoming poverty by means of increasing education quality and access, supporting social entrepreneurship models, as well as promoting values of global citizenship.

Are you interested in working hand-in-hand with other young people and community members, here and abroad, to understand and overcome together some of the challenges faced?

“It has been a day without seeing your smiley faces and I already miss you, so as I told you before leaving, this is not a goodbye, it’s a see you later.”

Patricia de la Rocha, D1 Student

The Kindred Project (KP) was set up in 2010 by Sotogrande International School as an independent student-led Nongovernmental Organization.

Another amazing experience...

Bring on Asni 2017!

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YOU CAN HAVE A VALUABLE ROLE IN CREATING CHANGE FOR THE BETTER!