Quatorze participants au programme MOMKIN ont eu l’occasion de travailler avec un groupe d’étudiants américains de SIT Study Abroad sur des projets journalistiques. Après avoir voyagé et travaillé ensemble dans plusieurs villes du pays, les étudiants de SIT nous ont écrit leur ressenti sur le travail accompli par nos jeunes.
“When I first met Mohamed, he came off as shy, but extremely kind. It wasn’t long until we had launched into an hour-long conversation about everything from our hobbies to our morals to our dreams. Throughout all of the time that I spent with him, from Agadir to Rabat to Salé, I felt a fast connection. And when it ultimately came time to say goodbye, at the end of the semester, he turned to me and said, “Shelby, I really feel like we have something special and deeper than just being partners. Our friendship has been the best thing to come out of this.” Thank you, Connect, for all that you do to uplift and empower the young adults that come to you. And thank you, for giving me the tiniest glimpse at what that empowerment can look like. I will be forever grateful that when I look back at Morocco, my time with Mohamed will be forever intertwined in my memories.”
“Morad was an absolute pleasure to work with. He always went the extra mile, especially when that entailed walking an extra mile to the other end of the landfill. With him there, I always knew we could find a way to adapt and approach people in a way that would make them comfortable. He listened to understand and spoke to be understood. When not at the dump, it was such a fun time exploring Casablanca with him. He has a wealth of skills that will take him great places, and it was always fascinating hearing the way his experiences with computer modeling give him new perspectives on the way we see the world. In hope that I can one day win that chess rematch and gratitude to Morad as a friend and a journalism partner, I just want to say thanks again.”
“My partner is Zakaria El Kouzouni and we worked together on a story on the medical distribution of virginity certificates to young women in Morocco. I couldn’t have more good things to say about Zakaria. He was not only the best reporting partner. I could’ve asked for, but we developed a friendship that I know will last beyond the duration of this program.
Zakaria was an integral part of the reporting process that made this story successful. Without him, we wouldn’t have had the voice of women in the story. While it wasn’t the smoothest journey getting there — we didn’t find any women to speak to when we trekked to Tetouan —we were committed and and our persistence paid off. Zakaria named it our “mission” after our failed trip up north to find women to speak to us and we finally accomplished the “mission” down south a few weeks later. I went to Agadir and Zakaria connected me with two women’s organizations that both had women open to being interviewed. Zakaria even had one of his female friends who speaks English accompany us to the interview to translate for me since Zakaria couldn’t be in the room himself (it’s a sensitive topic). I also got to visit the Connect Institute and say hi to everyone again during my time in Agadir, and it really solidified to me how grateful I am that SIT partners with students from Connect. I think they are all amazing people.
After all our interviews and brainstorming sessions during these two trips, Zakaria and I would spend time together and it developed a great working relationship and friendship. I will always carry memories with Zakaria close to my heart — I believe it was not only a great experience on an academic level, but as I said, on a personal level. Thanks for everything, Zakaria! I’m incredibly proud of our hard work.”
