In January we organised a second group placement for Kindness Adventures, an American organisation looking for an opportunity to give back to local communities. Jax (founder of Kindness Adventures and an enthusiastic participant tells us: ‘We believe that travel can be a powerful tool for personal growth and transformation, and we strive to create meaningful and impactful experiences that allow our guests to connect with the world in a deeper way. We are committed to fostering a culture of kindness and compassion, and to creating a supportive and inclusive community of like-minded women who are passionate about making a positive impact.’

The project we work with in Morocco, Education for All, was the perfect match.  Their aim is to empower the next generation of Morocco’s girls, and since their foundation in 2007 they have ‘worked tirelessly with our projects to transform the lives of young girls, many of whom have now successfully broken out of generations of poverty and illiteracy and have earned university degrees at established universities. They have become independent leaders and role models, inspiring other young women to follow in their footsteps and break the cycle of limited opportunities.’

After much discussion, it was decided that the best way to get the ladies and girls engaging with each other in a meaningful way was to create a week of cultural activities, enabling the girls and women to get to know each other while having fun and learning together.  All costs were covered by the Kindness group, enabling the girls to try out various cultural activities not normally open to them, and enabling the ladies to immerse themselves in the culture of a country they had not visited before.

The activity week took place during the girls’ school holiday in January.  30 girls took part, alongside 2 housemothers and others from EFA, and 10 Kindness ladies.  They were divided into small groups so they really had the chance to get to know each other, and did the different activities on a rota basis.  They did a guided tour of the medina in Marrakech; a cycling tour (Jax’s favourite but what else would you expect from a former Canadian international cyclist!) ; a cooking class (‘It was so so much fun and delicious food’); made pottery; did a weaving class (‘loved the whole concept, teaching us the old way of weaving the Berber knot’); took part in a photography workshop (‘the girls were so creative’); and on the final day took the Kindness group to one of their boarding houses for a day of activities organised by the girls. 

As you can see from the photos below, they all had a lot of fun! 

‘The experience and activities with the girls was amazing. I believe both the girls and the Kindness ladies had some life changing moments and the bond we made with the girls was heartfelt and fulfilling.’ (Jax)

Although this was a short placement, this placement made a real impact on both girls and ladies and has led to some ongoing relationships – two Kindness Ladies have already started e-volunteer placements, meeting online with the girls twice a week to help them develop conversational English skills, and we hope to set up further e-volunteer placements for others from the group when the new school year starts in October. 

To learn more about volunteering with Education for All, either in-country or online, follow these links or email dianne@travel-peopleandplaces.co.uk

If you would like us to work on a group volunteering opportunity contact

dianne@travel-peopleandplaces.co.uk

And finally a big thankyou from people and places and EfA to the Kindness team – this was a glorious experience for the girls of EfA – we so appreciate your support.