| About | Membership | Volunteer | Newsletters | Souk | Links |
Friends of Morocco 40th Anniversary Celebration tour Oct 5-15, 2002
AMERICANS
CONNECT TO MOROCCO
BY LINKING TO PEDIATRIC CANCER PATIENTS
Several
DC-based former Peace Corps Volunteers, who decades later still cherish their
Moroccan friendships, experiences, and the enduring life-altering lessons
learned in the cities and towns there, had a collective bright idea in early
June 2002.
In
conjunction with the 40 + 1 anniversary celebrations in late June 2002 of the
founding of the Peace Corps, Tim Resch, Ruth Ann Skaff and Ellen Hunt set up a
bona fide “souk” or craft market at the associated World Bazaar in the
Marriott Wardman Hotel in northwest Washington, DC.
For two days they held court, chatted up customers, described the uses
and origins of silver teapots, ceramic tajines, fossil chessboards, Fez pottery
and hand woven carpets, sold, collected money, packaged the goods and made lots
of friends. They were assisted by
two Moroccan members of Friends of Morocco (FOM).
Hassan Samrhouni and Abdessamad Nhairy staffed the booth with the
intrepid trio and provided the interested public a solid understanding of the
crafts being displayed. Needless to
say, the Friends of Morocco booth was a significant contribution to the World
Bazaar, generating a lot of traffic and sales.
The
trio also did some ‘heavy lifting’. After locating and securing the
authentic handicraft from a local wholesaler, recruiting additional volunteers,
they also transported the merchandise, artistically displayed it, and when the
“souk” closed, packed up the unsold items and returned them. Special kudos to FOM president Tim Resch who literally did
most of the heavy lifting!
What
motivated the accidental entrepreneurs - Tim, Ruth Ann and Ellen - was the
opportunity to offer a modest humanitarian gesture for cancer-stricken children
in Morocco. The $700 net proceeds
from the “souk” are dedicated for the two Moroccan public health pediatric
cancer centers: Service d'Hémato-oncologie Pédiatrique
de l'Hôpital 20 Aôut 1953 in Casablanca and Unité d'Hémato-oncologie Pédiatrique
at the Hôpital d'Enfants in Rabat.
Tim, Ruth Ann and Ellen, along with their fellow members of FOM and the National Peace Corps Association, fully subscribe to the organizations’ shared credo “to commit ourselves to serve the world we discovered”.
The Charity
Ruth
Ann has first hand knowledge both of the heroic, dedicated work of the Moroccan
pediatric oncologists and the pressing need for more resources to accurately
diagnose and hence aggressively treat children afflicted with cancer.
During her years working at the fundraising arm of St. Jude Children’s
Research Hospital (SJCRH) in Memphis, Tennessee, she advocated for Morocco to be
included in the St. Jude Hospital International Outreach Program.
As
the relationship between St. Jude Hospital and the two pediatric cancer centers
developed, Ruth Ann met Professor Mhamed Harif of Casablanca and Professor
Fouzia Msefer Alaoui of Rabat during their respective visiting fellowships at
St. Jude Hospital in Memphis. These
two remarkable physicians have dedicated their professional careers to public
service, specifically in the realm of combating the scourge of childhood cancer.
Ruth Ann has also visited each center during private trips to Morocco,
sustained friendships with the professors, and witnessed the steady progress as
a result of their initiative and the collaboration with St. Jude.
It
should be noted that each doctor has established a committed, talented,
volunteer fund raising organization to further aid the young patients and their
families. Dr. Alaoui established L’Avenir (The Future) in Rabat, and Dr. Harif
established AGIR (ACTION) in Casablanca. The
scope of the two children’s cancer centers is vast.
Rabat is responsible for the northern half of the country.
Casablanca is responsible for the southern half of the country.
More bright ideas came
along.
2003
marks the 40th Anniversary of Peace Corps service to Morocco.
More than 4000 Americans served in Morocco during this time.
A delegation of twenty former volunteers whose service spans the four
decades, accompanied by friends and family, are returning to Morocco to “kick
off” a year long celebration by the Peace Corps in Morocco.
“The Celebration Tour”
delegation visits Morocco October 5-15, 2002.
The Celebration Tour seemed the perfect opportunity for the lucky
travelers to present our modest gift in person to Professors Alaoui and Harif,
express our collective good wishes and admiration for their and their staffs’
dedication, and to possibly meet some of the children and parents.
Therefore
on the very first day of The Tour, the delegation is going to Rabat and in the
course of the Peace Corps anniversary commemorations; they will meet Dr. Alaoui
and present the donation, good wishes, and many personal toys and items for the
young patients.
The
following morning they will visit the children’s cancer center at l’Hopital
20 Aout 1953 in Casablanca where they will tour the facility, meet staff and
patients and make the same presentation of good wishes, toys and the financial
donation.
The very best idea came
from Brenda Bryant Petta, a Montessori teacher in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Upon learning about FOM’s humanitarian effort on behalf of the two
children’s cancer center, Brenda notified other teachers at her school, the
children and their parents. With
her leadership and inspiration, the students have written letters, created art
work, collected art supplies and many gifts for the young Moroccan patients.
Brenda is personally delivering these gifts, along with photographs of
her students, and in turn, will bring photographs and news of the Moroccan
children back to her students.
Many
powerful lessons are being exchanged, for the youngsters and adults alike.
“It
is very touching. One teacher has collected about 20 stuffed animals.
…. as her students bring gifts, they keep saying, "It
is the right thing to do." Her students are 1st-3rd graders. One of my
little Hmong students today brought pictures that he had drawn and said,
"They are for the sick children." I am so touched by such gestures. My
assistant is from Iran. She also works a second job at Target, and she brought
in a bag full of toys and art supplies. The teacher across the hall from me
purchased 15 little stuffed animals last night.
I pray that those receiving our little gifts are as blessed as those giving them
seem to be. “
Brenda Bryant Petta
Childhood
cancer is frightening, and all the more so in developing countries where access
to proper care, sufficient medicine and sustained treatment are difficult.
Today cancer need not be a death sentence; many of the common forms can
be cured.
The
first step is to introduce this special group of humanitarian Americans who have
an enduring commitment to Morocco, and come from a vast array of professions, to
the Morocco-St. Jude pediatric cancer collaboration.
We sincerely hope that after this on site introduction, some of us will
want to develop ways to continue supporting this important, lifesaving work.
Although
$700 is a small contribution, it can be a symbolic first step to build a
relationship between the Friends of Morocco (FOM), an affiliate of the National
Peace Corps Association, and this dynamic project.
This
relationship can grow in many creative ways, limited only by our imaginations.
God
willing, inshallah, this meeting is a
first step for FOM, which is a 501 c 3. We have an award winning newsletter, as
well as a website. Photographs and information about The Celebration Tour and
all the activities will be posted.
As
FOM develops a multi-faceted relationship with the Moroccan children’s cancer
centers, and their fundraising organizations, L’Avenir and AGIR, we can
conceivably become a model for the many other Country Affiliates of the National
Peace Corps Association in those countries which also have St. Jude
collaboration. The Friends of
Brazil, Friends of Guatemala, Friends of Jordan, Friends of Chile come to mind.
We
can strive to become an effective vehicle for volunteer support, human resources
and funding for many similar projects in our Peace Corps countries to which we
are so powerfully bound.
Offering
our talent and commitment can help save young lives, and help us continue the
spirit of Peace Corps.
#######
October
2002
For
further information:
http://www.friendsofmorocco.org
Tim
Resch, President
Friends of Morocco
tresch@att.net
H
703 660 9292
W 202 712 4453
F 202 216 3171
C 703 470 3166
St.
Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Main number: 901/495-3300
http://www/stjude.org
Dr.
Judith Wilimas
JudithWilimas@stjude.org
Jerry
Chipman JerryChipman@stjude.org
Fouzia
Msefer ALAOUI, M.D.
Unité d'Hémato-oncologie Pédiatrique at the Hôpital d'Enfants de Rabat
Rabat
ialaoui@maghrebnet.net.ma
L’Avenir:
07-75-41-74/83 or 89 Mobile: 061-095-311
Mhamed
HARIF, M.D.
Service d'Hémato-oncologie Pédiatrique de l'Hôpital 20 Aôut 1953
Casablanca
Mobile: 063-459-659
agir@plvplus.net.ma
website : www.fmp-uh2c.ac.ma/shop.htm
Return
to Friends of Morocco Home Page
| About | Membership | Volunteer | Newsletters | Souk | Links |