It's A Small World After All

The childhood favorite "It's A Small World After All" sang it best,

"It's a world of laughter
A world of tears
It's a world of hopes
And a world of fears
There's so much that we share
That it's time we're aware
It's a small world after all!"


I can't even begin to express what a wonderful experience I have had working with the 4 and 5 year olds at the IBNY school. When I leave the school each day, I can't get their little faces out of my mind. It is such a refreshing way to start the day and I thank God every day that he has given me this opportunity. Since the 1st day, I have seen laughter, tears, and even some hope and fear. I have seen a few kids come and go leaving me to wonder about each and every story. It's hard to imagine the type of environment these children come from and what their home life is like. Many of them wear the same clothes several days in a row.....their faces, hands, and feet a bit soiled. Regardless, every little face is smiling when my fellow volunteer, Kay, and I walk in to the room each day. The students always stand to eagerly welcome us with a jolly "Bon Jour!"

On October 12, I woke up anxious to meet the unfamiliar faces that I would be teaching for 6 weeks. First was the 4 year old class. Initially most were timid but quickly warmed up to me and Kay. We started out with some of the standard children's sing-a-long songs such as "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." Not knowing the skill levels at IBNY, we decided on a very simple project for Day 1. We cut out large circles using white paper and traced each child's hand on the circle. The activity was not only to teach them the shape of a circle, but to also provide an interactive way for us to work with each child and start developing a relationship. The surprising part came when it was time for the children to color the hand and circle. I was shocked to find that some of the children could not even hold a crayon. Many haven't developed muscle coordination in their hands so we worked to teach them how to grip the crayon and stroke the page. These children are no doubt starving for love and praise. With every crayon stroke, a child will call out to us while pointing to his/her paper for approval. The Arabic term "myzan" means good job. I probably use the word more than 50 times a day in class. Just as "myzan" rolls off my tongue, you can see a smile come over each child's face. Many of the little girls love to share kisses so they will motion for you to come to them and then kiss you on the cheek. At the end of the class we sang the "Goodbye" song......"Goodbye Goodbye we had a happy day, Goodbye Goodbye we'll see you on Tuesday!" We sing this at the end of class everyday of course inserting the appropriate day of the week.

Next was the 5 year old class. Most of these students have worked with former CCS volunteers so they understand some basic English and they were very eager to let us know what they already knew. One little boy, whose name I now know is Aymane, ran up to me as I entered the class and started counting to ten in English. Just like many of his classmates, he was so proud to share his English knowledge. "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" was taught by former volunteers and the children absolutely LOVE to sing these songs everyday. While Kay and I traced the hands of the 4 year old class, the 5 year old class wanted complete control. Most wanted to trace his/her own hand and grabbed the crayon from us. It was so amazing to meet each child and felt even more incredible to see how excited they were for us to be in their class.



We are dropped off each day at an entrance to the medina in Rabat. Once we cross through the medina wall, the door to the IBNY property is on the left. In case you aren't familiar with the term medina, it is an old Arab quarter in most North African cities. The layout of a medina can be very intricate with winding corridors throughout which provide labyrinth feel. The big metal door is locked and someone must come to open it for us each morning and walk us out as we leave. We walk a minute or so once inside and we come to the playground. This is certainly not a playground like most of us are accustomed to having back home. The IBNY playground is simply a concrete slab....no swings, no slides, no monkey bars...only open space for the the children to sing and play games with each other.



Just off of the playground are the restroom facilities. There are several lines of stalls with doors. However, there are no toilets. There is a small hole in the center of the ground and 2 places for your feet so that a child can position himself/herself to use the restroom while squatting. No flushing required and no toilet paper available. Each child is escorted to the restroom and given a small piece of toilet paper. I learned recently that toilet paper is new for Morocco. Most natives use their left hand and water to rinse. Therefore, it is considered unclean to use your left hand while eating and customary for Moroccans to only eat with their right hand, even if someone is a left-handed person. Yes, I know how reading this makes you feel but this is part of the culture so I felt the need to share the info.

You could say my 1st day at IBNY was a mix of emotions. When I first entered the class, tears filled my eyes and immediately provoked a mix of sadness, happiness, and extreme gratitude. I found myself wanting to give big hugs and kisses during the entire class. While I was overcome with joy to be there, I still felt the immediate tug at my heart knowing that the children all come from a life without privilege. Many of them are so jovial and full of life while others have an expressionless, lackluster disposition. Each child is so brilliant and unique in his or her own way but still exudes uncertainty. I may only have 6 weeks to directly engage with these children but I will go above and beyond to make each child feel special and significant while I am here. What these children don't realize is that I'm not just here to teach them, but I am also here to learn from them. I am honored to have these 58 new faces in my life and can't imagine what it will be like when it's time to leave them. I can only hope that our paths will cross again so that I see how the children evolve and develop.....if it's God's will, I shall!

Or as the Moroccans would say....Insha'Allah!