A Different Easter

9/16/09

Today was a fantastic day at work. We had one of our littlest kids there today and he is quite the bundle of energy. His name is Fahid (all the spellings of names and places are phoenetic guesses since I haven't the slightest clue how to write Arabic), and he is around 3 years old with what appears to be a slight touch of downs syndrome. The files we have on the children are really unofficial. Hicham showed them to me the first day and they appear to be short paragraphs a past volunteer wrote and basically only include information as detailed as "Saiid is physically and mentally disabled," which of course I could tell you by looking at him. I'm not sure if it's that these children haven't ever received proper diagnoses from a doctor or if the center simply doesn't have access to all the medical information...

One of the things I love about working with children is that you absolutely must match their energy in order to hang with them. Otherwise....well you know those really frightening paintings of people being pulled into a fiery sea of ghouls and demons? Yeah it's kind of like that. Thankfully, after many summers of camp counseling, I think I have mastered riding the waves of their powerful energy. And, just like surfing, it is both tiring and a blast.

Hicham invited all the volunteers to a pageant of sorts being held at the center that night. This night is a special night of Ramadan when God supposedly spoke to Mohammed. On this night God looks down on everyone and if you're being good, he forgives your sins, and if not....well I guess we just assume you're being good. On this night everyone is out in the streets praying. It's pretty wild.

"So, what does this have to do with the children?" you ask. Well, like most holidays in most religions, it's used as an excuse to dress up the kids all cute. On this night the children dress in traditional Moroccan clothing and the parents essentially show off for each other. I was reminded of Easter growing up and all the floral print dresses and white patent leather shoes and wide-brimmed hats with bows that decorated me.

In the center of the room was an offering of incense, dates, and milk. Near this offering the girls got henna tattoos...they mostly just kept staring at their hands looking all confused. It was pretty cute. There were a couple pre-teen girls there who really took a liking to me and kept taking pictures with me and asking their mothers, who work at the centre, how to say things to me in French or English. Everyone was so welcoming to us, and I was so grateful to be a part of their celebration.

Thank goodness for renewal, of all kinds.