What first attracted me to the internship program here at Lawline.com was the grand exposure to all types of law.  You see, I am currently an undergraduate student at New York University, baffled at my direction in life and sure of only two things—that my life’s work be grounded in the public sector and to be concentrated with the work of children.  My interest in child advocacy and the legal aspects of the social welfare system have brought me to the realm of law—a practice that has been better enlightened in my time here at Lawline.  I am a strong believer in experience and in the perspectives that it may offer—whether the experience be based on a future career goal in Manhattan or in a third world country half way around the world.   Either way, I believe it is necessary that everyone place him/herself in a world outside their own and dare to experience a life that is just a little bit uncomfortable.

These were just a few of the goals founded in my spring break trip last week to Morocco.   Accompanied by twenty other individuals, I worked for ten days in a Children’s Home about two hours outside of Fez.  I experienced a world completely counteractive to my own, situations and reliance beyond my comprehension and a love, undeniable.   Before I left for Morocco I was quick to say I was headed to an orphanage, willing to offer anything they needed—I learned that this was far from what was to be expected.  The Village of Hope refers to itself, very specifically, as a Children’s Home.  Every child has a family—a mother, a father and siblings.  There are seven pairs of parents all caring for anywhere from 5 to 10 children.  They are referred to and thought of as “Momma” and “Poppa” and everyone else on the grounds as “aunts” or “uncles.”  This innovative structure includes a school system of its own, a communal kitchen and a laundering facility, group trips and various play facilities.  Such a system provides a more stable, welcomed community of children and individually nurtures the pains so felt by the neglected children of Morocco.  It is a political infrastructure that I believe has far surpassed any cohesive model of an “orphanage” or even that of individual foster families.  This has allowed for a supportive community of children, foster families and all of the individuals with whom these children may come into contact.

Another aspect for which I must commend the Village of Hope is the undeniable immersion in the context of the community of Morocco.  As an individual willing to help, I often find philanthropists and social entrepreneurs eager to throw money at various situations or even to impose a system of their own on a foreign society.  What the Village of Hope has recognized, that I believe to be a vital aspect to any sort of program in the public sector, is that of immersion in the local community.  While the Village has individuals on staff from all over the world (South Africa, New Zealand, Spain, Los Angeles, etc), they are very aware of the origins of the children in their community.   They have recognized that the children they are fostering are full-blooded Moroccans and have committed to nurturing this society in them.  The children are taught by local teachers to speak and read traditional Arabic and also, the everyday mannerisms and respect of the Islamic political infrastructure.  The ultimate hope of the Village is that every child will grow up capable of evoking change within their own society—to revolutionize the third world country of Morocco.  

Being that this home was different, on a whole from that of an orphanage, the premise of the situations we handled, encountered and completed were vastly different from our expectations.  While we may have initially thought the week to be full of holding and hugging children, of taking their pictures and offering them equipment and supplies they were vastly in need of, none of this proved to be true.  We were amidst a community of families that regularly held and hugged their children, who were uncomfortable with us taking numerous pictures and who were “making it” in every sense of the phrase.  Undoubtedly, they were thankful for our presence, of our help and for the vast materials we brought, but their needs were not desperate, their children not in dire need.  And what a relief!  That these abandoned, neglected children were receiving the care they deserved outside of a ten day short mission, that these children were being cared for daily!  So we built fences and planted peas and moved equipment and roofed houses and held sports clinics and offered art classes.  We added a dimension to the camp instead of answering a call of desperation.

Individuals keep asking me about my trip, how it was, what I’ve learned, how it’s changed me and honestly, it’s almost too close to tell.  I believe that my reflection on this experience will continue to throughout today, throughout this week, this year and its effects rippled throughout the rest of my life.  The Village of Hope has opened my eyes to the desperation of the third world, to the desperation of the children caught in its grasp and to the crucial role of serving the poor, that we, the very materially blessed, need to take on.  I have been exposed to a system of caring for the poor, the neglected, the abused that is revolutionary and profound, a system that I can only hope will one day be implemented here in America and across the world.  I think it is important for us to remember to keep our minds open and willing to learn from other individuals or countries that think from their heart just as much as their head.  I encourage you to look at the website of the Village of Hope [http://www.voh-ainleuh.org/], to consider a donation, offering your specialized service or even just your thoughts and prayers.  And regardless of your thoughts or opinions of the Village of Hope, of Morocco and even of the entire system of public service, I encourage you to reach out to the world's poor in other new and significant ways in 2009.  Beautiful little lives around the world, are literally, depending on it!