About

My name is Paulina and while living in Barcelona (Spain) I worked as a scientist at the University of Barcelona, and in my free time I volunteered in projects in Morocco. This blog covers 1.5 years of this amazing experience.

During my stay in Spain, I was involved in two projects coordinated by the ITRAN Asociacion based in Barcelona, Spain:
1) “Higiene – salud para todos” (“Higiene – health for everyone“). The long term objective of this project is to improve the state of personal and dental hygiene among the inhabitants of the rural area surrounding the city of Erfoud, Morocco. The program involves students from three schools and also, to some extent, families living in four villages located in that area. My work was focused on assessment of the situation  in the Erfoud zone concerning personal and dental hygiene by determining the problems and needs of the local population. Moreover I was involved in finding the donors willing to support us with hygienic materials (toothpastes and brushes, soap, etc.), supervising the process of materials providing to the schools, keeping an eye on the inventory and so on. In September 2014 I traveled to Erfoud to give educative and informative talks to the children and their families concerning the basics of appropriate daily personal and bucal hygiene.

2) “Casal de Verano” (“Summer Camp“). The Camp is an annual project taking place in one of the Erfoud zone schools. The main goal of this initiative is to create an opportunity for a multicultural exchange between international volunteers and local community members, promoting friendliness, solidarity and teamwork in the educational process of boys and girls, addressing issues such as hygiene, sociability, coexistence, education, etc. In summer 2014 and 2015 I was a director of the Camp, coordinating the work of around 20 Spanish volunteers and activities for approx. 120 kids.

Volunteering in Morocco is my second long-term volunteering experience. Before, during 4 visits I made between 2011 and 2014, I spent around 10 weeks in Palestine and Israel trying to understand one of the world’s most enduring conflicts. If you are interested in my experience, please visit the second blog: http://jordanvalleywitness.wordpress.com.

At the moment I live in Italy and in 2015 I became involved in activism regarding the refugee crisis. I write about my actions on the blog: http://weallarerefugees.wordpress.com.