Photo: YES alumni in BRICC, from left to right, Soukaina Kherdioui, Aladdeine Essebbar, Diyae Elhassouni, Amina Soulimani, Fatima-Ezzahra Outznit, and Zaki El Habachi  

By: Jeremy Kyle, Peace Corps volunteer, Morocco, 2014-2017

Peace Corps volunteers worldwide rely on host-country collaborations for vibrant, successful projects. My service in Morocco has been enhanced through such collaborations with the Moroccan alumni of the YES program. 

My first opportunity to engage with YES alumni came in the summer of 2015 when a group of them came to my rural town, Ait Iaaza, to host the Beyond Roots Intercultural Camp. The goal of this seven day camp was to increase the leadership skills and cultural awareness of rural youth. BRICC, which stands for “Believe, Respect, Innovation, Collaboration, and Citizenship,” is the title of an association YES alumni founded in Morocco along with their classmates and friends. Their aim is to address the needs and challenges endured in urban and rural areas through volunteering, creating projects, and organizing fundraisers.

When the BRICC team arrived in Ait Iaaza for pre-planning, everyone could really sense their empowerment. Their leadership skills and understanding of civil society were so noticeable. Over a period of seven days, they executed a diverse range of classes and workshops such as American culture, American English, architecture, art, teambuilding, leadership, theater, and singing. For many of the camp’s participants, it was a new, valuable opportunity to learn and to experience these types of activities. Equally important, the camp facilitated an exchange that allowed Moroccan youth to see the impact the YES program has had on the confidence and self-esteem of the Moroccan YES alumni. They became living examples of the personal and professional growth that can manifest from constructive cross-cultural exchange.

Now, whenever I meet YES alumni, I always ask if they will come speak about the program and how the experience has developed their capacity to lead more resilient, positive lives. Those discussions are always a favorite for the youth I serve. 

Many of the alumni I met in the summer of 2015 now study at the graduate level in Morocco or abroad where they no doubt continue to apply the timeless lessons and understanding afforded to them from their participation in YES.