Daniel Burns from St. Paul, MN
Daniel Metcalf Cahill and daughter, Melissa Ann Cahill, Kenitra,
68-70
Steve Hanchey Rabat 85-87
Anne Hérisson-Leplae, Midelt 84-86
Ellen Hunt, Nador 81-83
Carol McCreay, 68-75 and at present
Stanley F. Olivier, Rabat 70-72
Anne Reese, Marrakesh 83-86
Tim Resch, Ouezzane and Rabat, 70-74
Hassan Samrhouni, Casablanca Travel and Tours, Arlington,
VA
Douglass P. (PCV 71-73) and Martha W. Teschner, Pike, NH
James C. Teschner, NY, NY
David H. Teschner and Juanita W. Bowser, Petersburg, VA
Friends
of Morocco (FOM),
active since 1988, is an organization of Americans, mostly returned Peace Corps
volunteers (RPCVs), with experience in Morocco and Moroccans in America united
with an interest in promoting educational, cultural, charitable, social,
literary and scientific exchange between Morocco and the United States of
America. Details see http://morocco.home.att.net/
FOM
seeks to:
reunite
Americans with Morocco experience and Moroccans in America;
improve
the awareness of Americans regarding the culture, needs and achievements of
Moroccan peoples;
keep
members and others current on events in Morocco;
support
projects of the U.S. Peace Corps and private charitable organizations in Morocco;
organize
and implement development education and outreach activities;
fund
and support charitable projects and scholarship on Morocco and Moroccans.
The
National Peace Corps Association (NPCA), with
whom Friends of Morocco is affiliated, was
incorporated in 1983 as the national alumni association for the people who have
served as volunteers and staff in the Peace Corps. The NPCA also welcomes the
families and friends of the Peace Corps community to join as associate members.
It is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization with over 11,000 members and 130
affiliated groups. The NPCA
and its affiliate groups produce global education programs and advocacy
campaigns, and they provide community, national and international services. It
is governed by an elected board of directors, and is managed by a professional
staff with headquarters in Washington, DC. It is not a part of the United States
Peace Corps which is a federal agency. We are citizens who served in communities
in more than 134 developing countries since the Peace Corps was created in 1961.
That global experience defined our lives and changed our views of the world and
of our role in that world. We are teachers, community activists, business
leaders, government officials, members of Congress, ambassadors, social
entrepreneurs, and other members of the Peace Corps family.
Details at http://www.rpcv.org/
Peace
Corps.
2001 is the 40th Anniversary of Peace Corps and the 39th
Anniversary of Peace Corps service to Morocco during which time over 4000
Americans served in Morocco and over 160,000 in 135 countries throughout the
world.The PeaceCorps’ mission is to foster world peace and friendship with all
the myriad nuances that those words evoke. The agency fulfills this mission in
part by recruiting, training, and supporting thousands of Volunteers who provide
technical assistance in many of the world’s poorest countries. At the same
time, Peace Corps Volunteers build mutual understanding between Americans and
the people of the countries they serve. Peace Corps will begin to capture the
capacity building aspects of this technical assistance based upon new efforts to
monitor and evaluate Volunteer activities. While it is possible to measure some
aspects of the agency’s success in providing technical assistance to
developing countries, it is less obvious how to gauge the intangible outcomes
that benefit our host countries and our own nation based upon the cross-cultural
exchanges and heightened mutual understanding that are an essential part of
Volunteer service. It is also no simple task to measure the specific impacts of
a Volunteer’s efforts, many of which play out during the lives of their
students, counterparts, and community leaders.
The
three goals set forth in the Peace Corps Act: are:
To
work at the grassroots level with people of the host countries in sustainable
development activities that will improve the conditions of their lives; and
To
foster improved mutual understanding and build links between the American
people and the people of host countries;
To
demonstrate, through the personal commitment of the Volunteers, the interest
and involvement of American citizens in the welfare of people of other countries
that is distinct and separate from the official relations and policies of
governments.
Volunteers
are the heart and soul of the Peace Corps. Through their various individual
efforts the agency is able to provide direct assistance to those most in need at
the community level. Each Volunteer is challenged to learn the local language;
to adapt to local customs; and to become an active participant in the life of
the community in which they serve. In so doing, the Volunteer is better able to
transfer skills directly to those who have the greatest need for them –
whether it be in education, the environment, health, agriculture, economic
development or information technology. Details
at http://www.peacecorps.gov
Casablanca
Travel and Tours
, is a tour company and study tour organizer, specialized only in travel to
Morocco
Tim
Resch
(Forestry 70-74 in Ouezzane and Rabat) has been active in Friends of Morocco
since it’s inception in 1988 and now serves as President.
His day job now is Manager of the East Asia and Pacific Environmental
Initiative, a US State Department/USAID environmental grants program.
A big chunk of his career, however, has been in Africa providing technical
advice to USAID forestry, wildlife and biodiversity conservation interventions
across the continent. He has a daughter who is a second year nursing student
at the College of St Benedict in St Joseph, Minnesota, about 15 miles southeast
of Lake Wobegon. A believer in
the goals of Peace Corps, Tim’s motivation for service to Friends of Morocco
stems from the generous hospitality and patience provided by Moroccans during
his Peace Corps service almost 30 years ago.
Hassan
Samrhouni
is Moroccan-born and an American citizen since 1990. Born in Fes and
also lived in Casablanca. He is Berber / Chelh from the South of Morocco . Worked
in Morocco 1973-1982 at The office of Commercialization and exportation (
OCE)
Moved
to States 1982. Worked in the hospitality business from 1984 - 1989, teaches
Arabic at the Diplomatic language services 1989-1992 Owned and managed
Casablanca Travel and Tours from 1992 to present. He
is an international soccer player, played for WAC Casablanca for 14 years.
He created WAC Washington
in 1991 http://www.mediaeditpro.com/casatours/flyer_casa_club.jpg.
He
is the founder and present President of The Washington Club, an American Moroccan
cultural, social, and sport institution. http://arabwebsite.com/ctt/news.html
http://www.mediaeditpro.com/casatours/biz_team.jpg
Dan
Burns
heard about the trip taking place through a mutual friend of the program,
Herman Birnberg. I have been
working for Allianz Life Insurance Company for the last 5 years.
Prior to Allianz, I worked for the INS from 1992-1996.
I have traveled to Mexico, London, Italy, Spain and France.
After graduating with an undergraduate degree in Business Administration-Operations
Management from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul in 1991, I received
my MBA in finance from the same institution.
I am very much looking forward to visiting a society so culturally
diverse as Morocco. In addition,
I believe this traveling experience will be like no other I have encountered.
I look forward to immersing myself in the tour.
Dan
Cahill
was a TEFL Volunteer in Kenitra, 1968-70.
He is a filmmaker, experienced in directing, writing, cinematography/videography,
and editing. Dan has an M.F.A. from New York University in Film and TV production,
and 25 years experience in dramatic, educational, and industrial films/videos.
He has experience writing for a major Hollywood studio, and is a member of
the Writers Guild of America. His work has won awards, most recently a 2000
Communicator Crystal Award for a dramatic legal education video he directed.
His base of operations is the New York University Law School, where he is
Manager of Video Services. He
will be creating a video record of the trip serving as director, videographer
and editor. He will be accompanied
by his 22 year old daughter Melissa Cahill,
who is experienced at assisting in video production.
Stephen
Hanchey
is an international education specialist with America-Mideast Educational
& Training Services (AMIDEAST), an organization celebrating 50 years of
promoting understanding and cooperation between peoples of the Middle East
and North Africa and the United States. He is currently the Regional Director
for English Language Programs. Now in his eighth year in Egypt, Steve left
his heart in Morocco after an all-too-brief sojourn in Rabat from 1985-1987
as Assoc. Peace Corps Director for Education. He is very happy to be part
of this FOM tour and looks forward to sharing his fondness for Morocco with
fellow travelers and new friends. Steve is an avid tennis player and fan,
traveling to ITP and ATP tennis events around the world. He is also a fan
of Southeastern Conference NCAA college football and attends at least one
game a season.
Anne
Herisson-Leplae
(TEFL 84-86) left Morocco 15 years ago promising to return often. Although
she hasn't gone back since a short visit in 1987, she stays in contact with
the country through the Moroccans she meets in the U.S. and in France. For
the past four years, Anne has been the director of the Alliance Francaise
de Milwaukee, an organization that strives to promote French and francophone
culture. Her career has always
involved promoting cross-cultural exchange, including her work with Soviet
immigrants in Chicago and a course she has taught at the University of Milwaukee
on women in the developing world. She is very active in the international
community of the city of Milwaukee, as is her first grade daughter, Madeleine.
Both hope to experience the magic of Morocco together one day. Anne is very
happy to be part of this FOM tour to reacquaint herself with the land and
people of this wonderful country. She
will bring with her warm messages from Madeleine.
Ellen
Hunt is
Program/Logistics Coordinator for International Programs at the National Rural
Electric Cooperative Assn. in Arlington, Virginia. She simultaneously
interprets her Peace Corps experience to US rural electric cooperatives and
works with NRECA's developing country offices to solicit and match available
donated electrical equipment to ship overseas.
Her
interest in the Arab world began at the age of 3 months when her family moved to
Cairo. As a military dependent, and with two parents who each speak three
languages, she early on learned about the importance of learning about and
respecting different cultures. As a freshman at the American University of
Beirut, she worked on her French language while learning about the Arab world.
On completing her university studies in California, she studied Arabic at the
Defense Language Institute in Monterey, and joined the U.S. Peace Corps in
Morocco from 1981-3, as an English as a Foreign Language teacher.
Moroccans
made a permanent, positive impression on Ellen, and later she worked in
international education and now, international rural electrification, with
continued English language teaching on the side. She is thrilled at the
chance to return to Morocco, and hopes this will be the first of many more
visits.
Carol McCreary is a training and communications specialist who has
worked in ten countries of the Islamic world. From 1968-72 she and her
husband, Jack, worked as Peace Corps English teachers in lycées of the Moroccan
Education Ministry. The success of this program was confirmed when talented
Moroccan teachers replaced the Americans. Today in her work in Morocco's
private and public sectors and in NGOs, Carol can use in English, as
well as in French and in derija,. Before returning to Morocco
in 1999, she taught in universities and institutes in Egypt, Qatar, Saudi
Arabia, and Yemen, founded on-going programs in Pakistan and Tunisia, and
worked with various United Nations agencies in Afghanistan. Jack
and Carol's daughters grew up in Yemen, Iraq and Pakistan and now share a
unique vision of the world with their colleagues in New York and Los Angeles
Dr.
Stanley F. Olivier,
Ed.D. retired Professor of Education, California State University at Los Angeles,
California, served as Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco 1970-72 , as Educational
Consultant of the Blind of Morocco under the Alaouite Pour La Protection des
Aveugles au Maroc. His was the first family volunteer member in Maroc. With
him was his wife, Linda and their four children; Lydia, Stanley, Michael,
and David. Their ages at that time were 2, 4, 6, and 8. They attended Jeanne
d'Arc School and did well adjusting to the new changes in their lives.
During
my service in Maroc I worked with the officials of
O.A.P.A.M. to develop a Braille Library, presented teaching tactual aids
in the areas of mathematics, science, and geography to four of the major schools
for the blind at Sale, Fez, Marrakech, and Taroudant. I conducted English
Braille classes for the the University of Rabat blind students and those from
the Sale School for the blind.
My
family enjoyed our stay in Maroc and we will always remember how wonderful the
Moroccan people were to all of us.
Anne
Reese.
After 3 years (1983-6) as a Peace Corps volunteer at the Foyer Koutoubia
in Marrakech, Anne Reese travelled around the world for a rather long time
and then worked for Catholic Relief Services in Ouagadougou, 1988-9.
She then
returned
to Washington and to her already long career as a psychiatric social worker.
For several years, she was director of mental health services at a large,
private, non-profit agency. She
left Washington again in 1994 when she was hired by a Pakistani NGO in Islamabad
to set up the first child sexual abuse in that country.
Since 1996, she has worked in the medical service of the State
Department, in a position whose details are too extensive to give here.
The medical service also covers USAID and, to a certain extent, other
non-military government organizations.
Anne's
first trip to Morocco was in 1958, when she was a student in Paris. She returns
to Morocco occasionally, most recently in 1997.
She always stays with Moroccan friends and has also been able to travel
with some of these friends in France and in the States.
She is very excited to return once again.
Her daughters and others who visited her in Marrakech in the 80's are
believed to be understandably envious.
Doug
Teschner
Doug
Teschner lives in Pike, NH, with his wife Martha and sons Benjamin (17) and
Luke (12). Doug has had a varied
career since graduating from the University of Massachusetts with a degree
in forestry in 1971. He was a Peace Corps forester from 1971-1973 (based in
Rabat and living in Sale). He then earned a Master's degree in Botany from
the University of Vermont and taught biology.
He also ran three student cross-cultural programs for students in Morocco
in 1979 and 1980, and taught outdoor education in Scotland.
In the early 1980's, Doug administered experiential education programs
for at-risk youth and earned a Doctorate in Education at the University of
Massachusetts. For the past 14
years, he has worked at Riverbend Community Mental Health in Concord, NH,
where he currently serves as Director of Development and Public Affairs.
Doug is also in his 11th year as a legislator in the NH House of Representatives.
Last year, he conducted training for the Indonesian Parliament.
Doug returned to Morocco this past summer with his family.
His account of the trip appears on the FOM website.
When he finds free time, Doug is an enthusiastic skier and mountaineer
(including multiple ascents of Jbel Toubkal).
Martha
Teschner
(better known as Marte) is Doug' wife. A native of Bloomfield, Connecticut,
she is employed at Dartmouth College.
She is a graduate of Skidmore College and has a Master's from the University
of Connecticut. This will be
her third trip to Morocco.
James
Teschner,
Doug's brother, is an artist (painter) in New York City, with a B.F.A. from
the Rhode Island School of Design and a M.F.A. from the Yale School of Art.
He also manages the photo studios for Martha Stewart Living.
Jim lives just 5 blocks from "Ground Zero" in lower Manhattan.
This will be his second visit to Morocco.
David
Teschner,
Doug's other brother, and his wife, Juanita
Bouser, of Petersburg, Virginia, will also be participating in
the trip. David is an Episcopal
priest and an accomplished fly fisherman.
Juanita, a Missouri native, is a public relations professional.
They first met on a trekking trip in Nepal.
This will be their first visit to Morocco.
