Never Underestimate the Impact of Volunteering

The following blog post is written by AUA’s Advisory Board Member Sarah Hassaine about AUA volunteer Luis Aguilar and the impression he received from his recent AUA trip to Jordan. To find an amazing volunteer opportunity, search the AUA Directory of Recommended Organizations© today

Sometimes life just deals you a hand of cards and you are just so happy with it, you want to tell everyone. That is how I feel right now.  As a web designer at Creative Associates, my opportunities to travel abroad for work have been rare; in fact, I have never traveled abroad for work. So when I was approached to participate in a house build in Jordan for ten days, I immediately knew that this was something I could not pass up. I had actually never thought of volunteering abroad or even going to the Middle East per se, and the more I learned about this opportunity I found that there was no reason to turn it down.

Upon accepting the invitation by America’s Unofficial Ambassadors (AUA), I joined six other Americans on a ten day trip to Jordan where we were destined to visit the village of Salt, the capital Amman, and the renowned wonder of the world, Petra.  We were unofficial ambassadors for a project entitled Build Peace by Building Homes which builds homes for deserving families in Jordan. While prepping for my trip, I learned that Jordan was chosen as a project destination because of its growing housing crisis. It is not uncommon to see 12-15 people share small two bedroom houses.  In this case, we worked with a family whose son was recently married and needed a second story for their growing family.
Immediately upon our arrival, we were whisked away to Salt where we stayed in a Group House together and dedicated four straight days to building the second story alongside the family. During this time, we really got to know the family and when the time came to leave we were all so sad to part ways. The family appeared genuinely sad we were leaving and so appreciative of our help. I was really touched by their appreciation and I can only hope that they remember us. I personally wish I could have stayed longer and finished that build.  But it was amazing how our objective to engage in the physical labor of building a home and to foster people-to-people partnerships at the community levelresulted in an overwhelmingly warm and happy feeling for all of us in just four days.

I was surprised by the level of hospitality the Jordanians have towards guests, guests that they don’t even know. We were the first group of Americans that the villagers in Salt had ever met, and they rolled out the red carpet for us.  We were always invited to people’s houses, we drank so much tea and people just kept feeding us – the food never stopped. This struck a personal cord with me as I am of Salvadorian descent and my family is very similar. In fact, the entire time I was in Jordan, I felt like I was in Latin America. The cultures are both family oriented and incorporate religion into their way of life, be it Christian or Muslim Arabs.  Even people there look Latin! I felt very comfortable.The trip helped me better understand Arab culture and what the Middle East is in general.

What most affected me was the warmth of the people, they would just come by and shake our hands and invite us over. It made me think of how different American Culture is. I never get invited to my neighbor’s homes, nor do I invite my neighbors to mine. There, without knowing us,they did that over and over again, it was humbling.

Now that I am back and reflecting on my experience in Jordan, I noticed that I am more hesitant to believe everything I see on television and read in media since I was proven wrong about my initial impressions of people from the Middle East. I came back definitely bearing more of an open mind, especially towards other Middle Eastern countries because I have less of a fear and more of an understanding.  It is no longer an unknown.

Another element of surprise was the extreme biblical significance of the land. As a practicing Catholic, it impacted me on a personal and spiritual level because of the history in the region. I felt a connection to the land given it was the region where Christianity began. On this trip we went to Mt. Nebo, however on future trips, I hope to visit Israel, and other countries in the Levant with more religious historic sites.

I want to tell everyone what I experienced and I am now inspired to go back and travel extensively through the region.  Yes, the cards were dealt and I got a good hand indeed. I learned about the true value of volunteering and about changing people’s life and the impact traveling can have on one’s faith and perception of the world. I hope the cards are dealt in your favor as well.

Empowering Others by Empowering One Dream

The following is a guest post from AUA Mosaic Fellowship recipient Adam Kruse. Adam is currently volunteering in Bangladesh through The Advocacy Project during the summer of 2012. To find an amazing volunteer opportunity, search the AUA Directory of Recommended Organizations© today

When I think about the blind I immediately think of a good friend of mine. She is suffering from Macular Degeneration and in the past months while I’ve had free time I’ve been reading to her. I confess, she is not completely blind but has what the doctor calls “Partial Vision”. This means that she aligns her hood ornament to the white line of the road while driving because she can no longer see straight ahead. She has no idea what is coming towards her; she just knows that she’s on the right side of the road going the right direction. That is what I feel like when I think about going to Bangladesh and helping the blind. I am on the right path going the right direction, but I have no idea what’s coming towards me. It’s scary, and exciting all at the same time.

I applied to The Advocacy Project Fellowship with BERDO because of BERDO’S mission statement. While I was in college I studied social and cultural change amongst marginalized communities and while researching I came across a book called “The Ancient Future” by Helena Norbert Hodge. The book has changed my worldview and has strengthened and focused my understanding of the problems and solutions for marginalized individuals. BERDO’s mission to empower people with disabilities through income generation, leadership development, education, training and treatment facilities to become full members of their community with access to the social mainstream is exactly what I was looking for when I started my search. I have been discussing the logistics of my fellowship as well as writing goals and objectives related to my time in Dhaka with BERDO’s administration. Their mission aligns with my personal and professional dreams and I feel confident in our ability to accomplish our objectives.

BERDO and its mission was not the only reason for my wanting to go to Bangladesh. I have often found myself heading in one direction and then suddenly following something that intrigues me and takes me to a place I never would have thought to go. I once went to Panama, planning on staying there for a month, and found myself in northern Nicaragua two days later. I cherish where my hardworking Midwest work ethic and a willingness to tolerate adversity has taken me. So, the door has opened to Bangladesh and I am going. I am fascinated by the idea of living in a city of nineteen million people. My town claims to have ten thousand when all of the college students are in town. I cannot wait to have a fuller understanding of the current population issues. Another attraction to Bangladesh is its richness in culture. When a country fights a war over preserving its official language, you know there is some serious culture… I am attracted to the language, food, music, and religion of Bangladesh and plan to learn about all of them equally.

My professional goals while acting as the 2012 Advocacy Project Fellow, as I have stated, are directly aligned to the mission of BERDO and the goals of the fellowship. My personal goals are simple and sincere. I hope to learn a new way of being, make life long friends, and invest myself in my work.

Rediscovering Home

The following is a guest post from AUA Mosaic Fellowship recipient Rani Robelus. Rani is spending a year serving as an English teacher and a video tutor in Yogyakarta, Indonesia through VIA. To find an amazing volunteer opportunity, search the AUA Directory of Recommended Organizations© today.

In June of 2007, I traveled to the world’s most populous Muslim nation and largest archipelago. I walked through streets scented with clove cigarettes and burning banana leaves, echoing with the otherworldly call to prayer. I went back to my mother’s homeland. I went back to Indonesia.

At that time, I had just graduated from high school and was searching to reconnect with my roots. As soon as my plane landed, I fell… In love, that is. I fell for the people, the food, the colors and the smells. Ever since that trip, this deep-seated urge to return and be immersed in the culture hadn’t—and wouldn’t— leave me in peace.

And so, I’m finding my way back.

Though this time, I know it won’t be easy. Packing up my bags and leaving my life in DC for the other side of the world gets my heart racing, but I know many challenges lie ahead. No doubt, there will be times I’ll feel disoriented and completely alone. I’ll probably bear witness to (and even be a target of) corruption and bribery, and life will be measured in jam karet or rubber time. Most of my time might be spent going in circles, trying to understand what people really mean behind their polite façade. But most of all, I will arrive in Indonesia with my own cultural baggage. I’ll have to increase awareness of and ultimately overcome my own cultural and personal assumptions, values and biases.

This was something I learned during my last trip to Indonesia. During that summer of 2007, I met my Indonesian family for the first time since I was two years old and my idea of the nuclear family and how it should behave was completely turned upside down.

Though they all lived in the same house, the members of my mother’s family lived in two different worlds. My wealthy great aunt provided my uncle with a job as her driver while his wife cleaned the house, cooking and washing clothes by hand. In return, they lived with their son in a small, single room at the back of her home.

From a Western girl’s perspective, the rules of the house seemed backward. Because of my uncle’s “lower” status, it was an unspoken rule that he and his family couldn’t enter the house through the front door and were silently prohibited from eating at the same table as the rest. My mother’s aunt and uncle treated my mother with more respect because she had made her way to America, and in their eyes, anyone who lives in the U.S. had made it rich.I vividly remember eating with my great aunt’s immediate family at the dinner table, and seeing my cousin Achmad— who is my age— back in the kitchen picking up food and returning to his back room. It made me feel guilty and shameful that there I was sitting at the table, eating the food his mother had cooked us. There I was walking in and out of the front door as I pleased.

After dinner, I walked to the back of the house to chat with Achmad. I couldn’t help but think that our positions in the world could have been easily reversed. I could’ve been living as the second-class family member, but pure chance prevented it. It’s this side of Asia which visitors rarely see—the silent discrimination based on wealth and status which is so burnt and engraved into the culture. This is an example of how culture dominated and all I could do is accept that for my family, this is their way of life and how it’s been for centuries. The only thing I could be held responsible for was my own actions, and as much as I wanted to shout and teach my family the right way to treat a human being, I could not be responsible for theirs.

And so by living in Indonesia, I hope my own cultural perspectives and values will continue to be challenged and examined more sharply under a magnifying glass. I also want to learn how to better solve and deal with complex problems, and discover what I can handle when placed in disorienting, foreign situations. I expect to become an expert at making a fool of myself and laughing it off, at knowing what risks to take and when to take them. And most of all, I hope to reconnect to a country I lost touch with years ago.

Discovering Salt: Jordan Day 5

The 2012 Building Peace by Building Homes participants recently returned from their trip to Jordan. Catch up with their experiences by reading more of their entries written AUA’s trip leader Gideon Culman.  To find an amazing volunteer opportunity, search the AUA Directory of Recommended Organizations© today.

The Building Peace by Building Homes team heads to the building site at daybreak and the work is the same as it has been all week: Hauling bricks, mixing cement, mixing cement, hauling bricks. But today there’s something different. As the walls grow higher, we leave spaces for windows, and the fruit of our labor finally resembles a house! The wind is blowing hard and we wrestle to secure the tarp protecting us from the unrelenting sun.

Photo Courtesy of AUA Volunteer Marcela Garcia.

In the evening we meet with board members of the Salt Youth Club and learn about the organization’s historical importance to the area. Afterwards we explore the streets of downtown Salt. A major hub during the Ottoman Empire, Salt boasts colorful bazaars, hillsides brimming with old stone houses, and a sampling of historical palaces, mosques and churches. We buy souvenir scarves and chew frankincense resin as the sun sets over the scenic cityscape. After the evening prayer is done, the faithful spilling out of the mosques and into the streets offer sweets to the members of the Building Peace by Building Homes team.

Returning to Allan village, a family whose mother serves on the board of the community center hosting us invites the Building Peace by Building Homes team for a late dinner. We expect a small family meal. When we arrive, everyone is there: Grandparents in flowing robes, children lighting firecrackers, uncles and aunts who have brought all the cousins. The feast is enormous. We learn that the head of the household trained as an Arabic-Russian interpreter in Kyiv. He used to visit the Ukraine every year. “Until this,” he waves his hand at a flock of children running into the house, and beams.

The Unveiling of Many Myths

The following blog post is written by AUA’s Advisory Board Member  Sarah Hassaine. Her article has also be published by the Arab American Institute. Read below to see what she has to say about the recent AUA trip to Jordan. To find an amazing volunteer opportunity, search the AUA Directory of Recommended Organizations© today.

Marcela is not ready to talk yet. But at the same time she wants to. Her recent trip to Jordan left her reeling with unanticipated emotions and experiences from the people she met.  Before her departure, Marcela Garcia, a behavioral therapist and a Masters Candidate in Special Education, described herself as someone who “lives in the moment, and in the seat of my pants.”  She enjoys traveling and learning about people’s dreams and aspirations in life. Her trip to Jordan, however, has proven to be an unanticipated life-changing experience.

Marcela has lived in Japan for a year and has done some international traveling, but none of her trips took her to the Middle East, and none were volunteer-based… until last month, when she joined six other Americans at New York’s JFK airport and flew to Jordan for a 10-day trip through America’s Unofficial Ambassadors (AUA) to build homes in the village of Salt. AUA aims to improve America’s relationship with the Muslim World by providing opportunities for private citizens to volunteer in various development projects across the globe, from Indonesia to Morocco. Unofficial Ambassadors volunteer in various fields like education, health, human rights, and economic development in communities throughout the Muslim World.

AUA Team Members Marcela & Constance learn how to “dabkeh” after a long day.

Marcela’s recent trip with other Unofficial Ambassadors was entitled Build Peace by Building Homes, which focused on building homes for deserving families in collaboration with Habitat for Humanity. Before her departure, Marcela said she was going on this trip “because I always wanted to volunteer and the opportunity never presented itself… I have always wanted to help build a house for others.”

After a whirlwind of ten days in Jordan, Marcela found herself crying in her hotel room the night before their flight back to the United States. “I came back feeling sad – very sad. While packing in Amman – I just started crying, I was not ready to leave,” shared Marcela. Ultimately, this trip opened her eyes to the fact that she wasn’t doing enough with her skills in behavioral therapy: “I wanted to stay and work with teachers and children there… the people were so amazing!”

Like many Unofficial Ambassadors, Marcela had not had much exposure to the Arab world or to many Arabs or Muslims in general. She said,

The trip exceeded my expectations.  Anything I knew about Muslims or Arabs was from the media or from people around me and it was so way off!  I thought they would treat me ‘badly’- but they appreciated that I was different – there was so much love, we did not know what to do with it!

Every day, Marcela and the AUA team helped a family build a second story on their home, and in the evenings they would field invitation after invitation to people’s homes. They were repeatedly offered tea, food, sweets and given gifts. “The people were always feeding us and they treated us like family [even though] we are nothing like them,” said an awed Marcela, “The hospitality and love and care were amazing. Every day brought more than we could take.”

Marcela went on to say that the “most exciting” part of the trip was being around “women of all ages, in all jobs, because they have so much to contribute to society and their families. They are articulate, intelligent and powerful.” She also joked about how all the women she met, be they villagers or university students, seemed “happy in their relationships;” which is not something you see often.

Marcela, like many westerners, had viewed women in the Middle East as oppressed silent women: “I thought they did not work and that they just stayed home and had kids and wore the scarf, boy was I wrong. I am so glad I was wrong.” Marcela and her AUA female counterpart Constance Castrence spent some alone time with the women. When men were not around, Marcela was shocked to see the women take off their headscarf and dress as they want: “I was so surprised to see them in short dresses and laughing and happy and talking about the same things we do here.” Marcela also noted that “so many women in Jordan are educated and worked,” and discovered that headscarves were not imposed: “I learned that it was their choice. They chose to wear the hijab, one girl explained how she opted to wear it but her sister did not… in the same household, two sisters with different approaches to clothes.”

For Marcela, learning more about women in Arab and Muslim cultures really opened her eyes and helped build a bridge of understanding.  She experienced firsthand how open-minded the people were and how non-judgmental they were of her. She admits that her expectations of the trip were beyond exceeded, and she came away having learned so much about a people and culture that she did not even know existed. “I was so wrong about everything – so wrong. It is great to have friends there now,” she said happily. She concluded by saying that her “message to people is that Muslims are amazing and loving people… And I want to tell people that the women are amazing!”

Jordan Day 4:The Building Begins

The 2012 Building Peace by Building Homes participants recently returned from their trip in Jordan.  Continue to catch up with their experiences by reading more! To find an amazing volunteer opportunity, search the AUA Directory of Recommended Organizations© today.

The idea that people would serve as volunteers is novel in Jordan. Most people there have never done it. To help normalize the notion of volunteering, Habitat for Humanity invites several Jordanian news outlets to film the Building Peace by Building Homes team at the worksite. Here the camera crew is talking to Habitat program officer Fadi and community center leader Buthaina.

After work the Building Peace by Building Homes team visits the Abdul Rahman Ben Ouf Society outside Salt. This is an NGO that has specialized in local permaculture, a branch of ecological design and engineering that cares for the earth and the people, and sets limits to population and consumption. The NGO also boasts a formidable chess team trained for years by Elham beaming here between Building Peace by Building Homes team member Constance and two of her chess champions. The chess players are top-ranked in Jordan and have competed in several different countries.

Contractor Abu Ussama hosts us at his family’s house for an evening feast. The centerpiece of the meal is mansaf featuring a whole goat. Notice goat meat artfully arranged on a bed of rice surrounding the goat’s head with a bunch of cilantro in its mouth. There are bowls of vegetables and tart yogurt as well as delicious yogurt sauce. The vegetarians in our group enjoy a separate feast of fried cauliflower, baked French fries, eggplant, red pepper sauce and fritatas. Yum!

Building a Stronger Future in Morocco: One Woman at a Time

The following is a guest post from AUA Mosaic Fellowship recipient Laura McAdams. Laura will be volunteering in Morocco during the summer of 2012. To find an amazing volunteer opportunity, search the AUA Directory of Recommended Organizations© today.

One week ago I officially became a Peace Fellow to Morocco with The Advocacy Project. Now, having bought my tickets, completed the necessary paperwork, and assembled gifts for future friends, I feel like I am really going.

This summer, I will be working with a women’s cooperative that produces handmade rugs, wall hangings, bags and throw pillows in traditional patterns using traditional methods in Ain Leuh, just 20 miles from where I lived last year as a Fulbright student researcher. The website for the Cooperative des Tisseuses d’Ain Leuh can be found at http://ainleuhcooperative.webs.com/

Despite King Mohammed VI’s efforts to further economic growth and development throughout Morocco, most employment opportunities are located in the Atlantic coastal region and in urban centers. The rural poor are still largely excluded from access to healthcare and education. Women in rural communities are especially vulnerable to living in poverty as men migrate to urban areas seeking employment. The women of Ain Leuh have created a new economic reality by establishing a business cooperative in their community.

I have set two main goals for this fellowship. First, since this will be the first summer The Advocacy Project will have a fellow based at Ain Leuh, I will work toward creating relationships with the women of the cooperative, understanding the structure and processes of their work, as well as assess areas of opportunity where future fellows through The Advocacy Project can contribute to the continued growth of the cooperative.

Weavings made by a cooperative near Ifrane, Morocco. Photo courtesy by Laura McAdams.

The cooperative has benefited from the efforts of Peace Corp volunteers over the years but after the current volunteer finishes her service in November, Peace Corp will no longer have small business development volunteers in the country. I hope that The Advocacy Project can continue to provide support to the cooperative through future Peace Fellows.

Secondly, I will work to help the women of the cooperative tell their story and promote their business, not only through my own blog posts and social media tools, but also through the creation of an Advocacy Quilt. The Advocacy Project will be displaying quilts at the UN Headquarters on International Women’s Day of 2012. In the past, over 80,000 people have viewed AP’s exhibitions. It is my hope that each woman of the cooperative will agree to contribute a small weaving to create a larger whole promoting not only their business and indigenous craft, but also their culture as Amazigh Moroccan women.

The majority of Ain Leuh’s 6,000 inhabitants identify as Amazigh (or Berber), the indigenous ethnic group of North Africa. I look forward to learning more about Amazigh language, culture and role in a country that still primarily considers itself Arab. Both Amazigh activists and scholars state that the Amazigh culture of Morocco was marginalized under policies of Arabization after independence in 1956. There is now, however, somewhat of an Amazigh renaissance in Morocco. The traditionally oral language now has a standardized alphabet, Tamazight is an officially recognized language, and there are festivals throughout the country celebrating Berber arts, including one in Ain Leuh every July. Throughout the summer, I hope to write more about the complex issue of Amazigh identity in Morocco and how that affects the women of the cooperative.

This summer I am most looking forward to getting to know the women of the cooperative. I have already spoken to Khadija, the president of the cooperative over the phone a couple of times and in true Moroccan style, offered a place for me in her home while I search for housing. I will even be able to spend a week or two of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month, with the women of Ain Leuh!

I leave for Morocco on Thursday, June 14^th after some brief training with The Advocacy Project. Share my experience with me this summer through weekly blog updates.

Day 3 in Jordan: The Experiences Continue

The 2012 Building Peace by Building Homes participants recently returned from their trip in Jordan.  Below is a glimpse into their first couple of days during this exciting adventure. To find an amazing volunteer opportunity, search the AUA Directory of Recommended Organizations© today.

Photo Credits Marcela Garcia

At the homebuilding site, the team forms a “brick dancing line.” This is a technique that our Habitat for Humanity program officer Fadi taught us so that we could move large numbers of bricks to the top of the building with no more movement than a simple pivot. From right to left, Jacques, Dan, Mitch and Gideon pass bricks up to the top of the building.

A school in the city of Salt invites the Building Peace by Building Homes team to attend its Jordanian Independence Day celebration. There are several troupes of talented Dabke dancers, a teen heartthrob rapper, and a wildly enthusiastic audience.

The Building Peace by Building Homes team ends the evening with a meal in the ancient city of Salt.  It’s been quite the day but day 3 was a success. After dinner, it was  finally time for some rest. Tomorrow begins a new day with more adventures.

Settling in: Jordan within the first 48 hours

The 2012 Building Peace by Building Homes participants recently returned from their trip in Jordan.  Below is a glimpse into their first couple of days during this exciting adventure. To find an amazing volunteer opportunity, search the AUA Directory of Recommended Organizations© today.

On our second day in Jordan, the Building Peace by Building Homes team received an orientation from Habitat for Humanity’s Jordan country director Thomas Stocker about their work in Jordan. Habitat has been working in Jordan since 2001, supporting families who wish to improve their living situation, can afford a mortgage, but do not have access to credit. Luis, Gideon, Thomas Stocker and Mitch; Dan, Marcela, Constance and Jacques pose for a photograph before the Building Peace by Building Homes team ships out to the village of Allan on the outskirts of the city of Salt.

Here we are, arrived in Allan, standing in front of the house we will be working on. The Building Peace by Building Homes team is standing with the family that owns the house and some prominent villagers. A grown son, whose wife recently had a child, will be moving into the new second floor that we will construct. He had to go to work today, so he is not with us in the picture.

Stepping up to be of service is fun. Doing it against this stunning backdrop is a thorough privilege. Get a load of this view from the top of the house we are working on: A minaret in the foreground with Grampa’s house right across the street. A patchwork of olive groves across rolling hills for miles and miles, and desert mountains for as far as the eye can see. On clear days, the people of Allan tell us, you can even see the lights of Jerusalem behind those mountains at night.

The Building Peace by Building Homes team sits down for lunch on our first homebuilding day. Jacques, Mitch, Luis, Marcela, Constance and Dan are about to chow down. The bountiful spread includes mansaf, a bed of rice and toasted nuts underneath yogurt-marinated chicken drowned in a tangy yogurt sauce, as well as fresh cucumbers and peppers, and locally grown pickles and olives.

“Who are all these strange, new people that have come to Allan to stay at the community center guest house?” The Building Peace by Building Homes team is the first group of foreigners ever to have come to volunteer in Allan. No wonder all the kids in the neighborhood are so eager to see who we are!’

Our next door neighbor saw Luis taking pictures of all the kids in the neighborhood. He invited us over to his house and showed us his cave. It used to be a vast, underground storage space for wheat. We took a walk inside it with gas lamps to light the way. These days he uses the cave to house his chickens. Marcela is holding one of their freshly laid eggs!

When our neighbor realizes that we’ve come from America to volunteer and we’re interested in learning as much as we can, he takes us to visit his friends at a local forest ranger station. The forest rangers tell us all about local agriculture and forestry policies.

As we head home at the end of the day, Buthaina, who runs the community center guest house recognizes that the sunset is too glorious to ignore. She stops her car by the side of the road, cranks her stereo, and leads Marcela and Constance in an impromptu Dabke dance. What more joyous way to celebrate the beautiful setting sun?

Touching Down in Amman

The 2012 Building Peace by Building Homes participants recently returned from their trip in Jordan.  Below is a glimpse into their first observations during this exciting adventure. To find an amazing volunteer opportunity, search the AUA Directory of Recommended Organizations© today.

The Building Peace by Building Homes delegation arrived in Amman in the late afternoon of Saturday, May 26th. Over our first dinner in Jordan at our hotel in Swefieh, we discussed our expectations for the trip: to experience life in a Jordanian village, to be of service to a family in need, to do some hard, hands-on work, and to practice Arabic.

Later that evening, we set out on foot to explore the neighborhood. There were stores selling fruit, candies, hookahs, as well as familiar businesses with unfamiliar scenery – such as this Starbucks. To our surprise, most of the billboards we saw as we wandered through Amman were either for Snickers or Burger King.