This time's for real, yo.

 

I will be serving as a Peace Corps volunteer - a "Health Educator"- in rural Morocco.

Assuming everything goes according to plans, I will start in mid-March 2011.

The timeline of my (lengthy) application to Peace Corps can be seen here.  

A little about Morocco (also see links page here):

  • Population of about 33 million
    • Population density is ~2.2 times that of the USA, at 185 people per square mile (US is 83)
    • Five Biggest Cities:
    • Casablanca: ~3.3 million
    • Fes: ~1.9 million
    • Rabat (capital city): ~1.8 million
    • Marrakech: ~1.1 million
    • Tangier: ~700,000
  • GDP (PPP) per capita is about $4,745 (USA's is about $47,700, ten times richer). This makes it about the 117th richest nation out of 194 (CIA)
  • Exluding the disputed Western Sahara segment, Morocco is about the size of California
  • Ethnically, 99.1% Arab-Berber
  • Government is a constitutional monarchy, ruled by the King of Morocco, but with an elected parliament
  • Founded by Berbers who were the original inhabitants
  • Umayyad Arabs conquered the region in 7th century, bringing their language and Islam
  • In 1956, after 44 years of occupation, Morocco regained independence from France and Spain as the "Kingdom of Morocco"
  • The geography of the country spans from the Atlantic Ocean, to mountainous areas, to the Sahara desert
  • In 2007, 57% of the country's GDP was from the Services sector, 31% from Industry, and 12% from Agriculture (EIU)
  • Agriculture employs about 40% of Morocco's workforce (common crops: barley, wheat, olives, citrus fruits, wine grapes; Morocco also produces a significant amount of illicit hashish (places where PCVs are not assigned to!))
  • On average, drought occurs in Morocco every third year
  • Morocco's unemployment rate has long been a cause for concern, though has been dropping on the back of job growth in services and construction, e.g. national rate was 13.9% in 1999, down to 10.8% in 2005, now estimated as 10.0% (with urban unemployment much higher)

A little about Peace Corps Morocco:

  • Morocco was among the first countries to invite the Peace Corps to assist in its development
    • A group of 53 volunteers first arrived in Morocco in 1963
  • Since 1963, more than 3,800 volunteers have served the Kingdom of Morocco
  • PC Morocco is one of the largest programs, with an estimated 234 current volunteers in Morocco
  • Currently, Volunteers serve in the following sectors: Environment (ENV), Health, Small Business Devlopment (SBD), and Youth Development (YD)
  • Volunteers speak Moroccan Arabic, French, Tamazight (Berber dialect), and/or Tashelheit (Berber dialect)
     
    •  

A video from a PCV in Morocco:

 

Not specific to Morocco, but this is a GREAT Peace Corps video...