Site Updates

'Tis been awhile since I have updated y'all on the comings and goings in my site. So, here you go.

1. In terms of importance, this is number one. Well, not really when you consider the other news I have to share but its my favorite. Ali (he's 2 now!) has finally said my name. Back in November, a PCV who writes poetry asked my stage (training group) to finish the follow sentence: Before I Leave. One of the things I mentioned was Ali saying my name. 10 months later, it has finally occurred. A couple of weeks ago, I was impatiently watching the seconds' hand on the clock tick before lftur at the host family's. Ali ran up to me, pulled on my shirt and said "E-ham." While this is not exactly how to pronounce my Arabic name (Ilham) but its close enough. I looked at Naima, Ali's mom, and she confirmed that he was saying "Ilham" the best way a 2-year-old can.
    

2. Its been a long time comin' (I use this phrase merely because its one of my favorite) but trash cans have finally arrived. Yep, that is right. I can now dispose of my trash in a respectable manner 2 blocks from my front door. When I arrived so long ago, there were a couple of plastic buckets nailed to lamp posts but after a few months, they disappeared. For the last 18 months or so, I have been carrying my trash to the nearest dumpster, 30 k away. Not anymore!
    

   A piece of land that was covered in trash, rocks, and feces was bulldozed when the king came. Then a haphazard fence went up and just in the last few months, work was been underway to make it into a small promenade complete with park benches and trashcans. A public land beautification project—something I would not have expected two years ago and something to lessen my cynicism and increase my optimism.
    

3. Another trash-related item: I watched Ali throw away his trash. In a place where trash is just thrown out the window or dropped on the ground, Ali's action is important to me. He finished his yogurt, walked over to the trash can, lifted the lid, and threw away the empty carton. I jumped up and engulfed him in a big hug, startling him and making the others laugh.
    

   Upon settling in, I quickly realized that one of the best things I could do as a Peace Corps volunteer was to be a good influence, especially for Ali and SiMo (he is now 9). This sounds smug and portrays me as a bit of a high horse but honestly, I do not care. Part of my job description is to act as a cross-cultural ambassador. Those boys need better influences than the boys who throw rocks at me, than the men who whistle, honk and shout sexually-explicit phrases at me, than the ones who disdain education. For the record, they do have great male role models in their family. Side Note: The new school year started yesterday. For a week now, it is all SiMo can talk about. His enthusiasm is contagious and makes me excited about the next 2 months.
    

4. A bakery has opened, operated by the women who graduated from the computer classes! They wrote up the business proposal in Microsoft Word, a budget in Excel, and presented it to the commune president who donated the use of a building and storefront until the end of Ramadan. Using skills they learned in class, they have started to bring supplemental income to the community.
   

Little by little, goals are accomplished in this mountain village. It is hard to think about education, marketing options, and the environment when wood is scarce but crucial to surviving the harsh winter and food prices increase due to higher transport costs. But in 4 years (as far back as my information goes), the Internet has arrived, literacy classes have begun, women are forming associations and starting businesses, an inn has opened, INDH (the Moroccan version of UNDP) has built an office, and a large project is underway to bring water to every home. Yes, little by little or as we say here, "shiwya b shiwya."