Three groups of Morningsiders embarked on GEMC3001 service learning trips this summer to Morocco, Greece and Kaiping, China. Each trip consisted of fifteen students and two Junior Fellows.

In Morocco, students learned more about NGOs and social enterprises working on women’s empowerment and environmental sustainability. The trip, organized by the College in partnership with the Center for Cross-Cultural Learning (CCCL) , was the fifth of its kind since 2018. The group arrived in Morocco’s capital city, Rabat, on May 17. In Rabat, they visited the Moroccan Association of Family Planning, the Moroccan Center for Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship, the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection, and the Moroccan Association for Ecotourism and Nature Protection. The group also spent three days in Marrakech, where they visited Amal and Al Nour, two organizations that support women from disadvantaged backgrounds, and Project SOAR, which empowers young girls through extracurricular leadership workshops. In addition to learning about Moroccan history and contemporary society, Morningsiders got to meet Moroccan university and high school students, learning from their experiences and sharing their own. 

Later, in June, a group of Morningsiders and Junior Fellows completed the third iteration of the service trip to Greece to learn about refugee rights. In partnership with the Hellenic Education & Research Center (HERC), the group visited NGOs supporting refugees in Athens and on the island of Lesvos. In Athens, students visited Za'atar NGO and their restaurant, Tastes of Damascus, as well as the Failte Center, Khora Free Shop, Doctors Without Borders, and Shedia Home.During their time in Lesvos, the group had a unique opportunity to visit the Mavrovouni Refugee Camp with the support of Doctors Without Borders, which provides medical care in the camp. The group also visited Fenix NGO, an organization that offers legal aid and helps asylum-seekers obtain refugee status. Beyond these visits, our students learned about Greek history and refugee law, savoured delicious local cuisine, and learned a few phrases in Greek. 

The third and final GEMC3001 service trip of the summer concluded on Sunday 21 June. Fifteen students and two Junior Fellows returned from Kaiping in Guangdong Province, where they met and learned from several experts involved in the restoration of heritage buildings and the revitalization of the surrounding community. In partnership with Learn with Dragonfly, we spent seven days in and around Kaiping, visiting sites such as the Zili Village UNESCO World Heritage Site and the Cangdong Village Project. In neighbouring Jiangmen, students visited the Jiangmen Wuyi Museum of Overseas Chinese, where they learned more about the unique history behind this region of China, and the Blue Tile Heritage Center. By speaking to professors, village heads, entrepreneurs, and young professionals, students got to better understand how to serve a rural community’s needs through heritage conservation.