For a trip lasting 9 days, made last March, the 29 French students participating in this project had worked for several months.
"This daring and enriching project was launched for us students in September 2018, with the announcement of our director and our educational consultant, ambassadors of the project, Mrs Chemin and Mrs Ducret. From that moment on, the whole class was enthusiastic and eager to meet the students of another Salesian high school outside Europe," said two students, Alec and Clément.
Once the idea was approved, the preparation required a preparatory path, both organizational - with various fundraising activities to reduce travel costs – as well as cultural and motivational. The two French students explained: "Some parents and even our companions had some fear before leaving, being for many the first time of a trip to Africa. And yet, as Msgr. Cristóbal López, SDB, the archbishop of Rabat, during our visit to his diocese said: 'The world is my home and humanity is my family'."
Even before leaving, the students of the two Salesian institutes separated by the Mediterranean were getting to know each other through the exchange of letters, videos, conversations on social networks ...
Thus, when it was the time of their meeting in person, a great sympathy was immediately born among the students. "We were greeted by the Moroccan students with songs, poems, dances and flowers. Faced with such a welcome, the emotion moved us and we had no words to describe the joy and happiness of meeting our Moroccan Salesian brothers and sisters," said Alec and Clément. "Then, over the next three days, we were able to fully put ourselves in their shoes and experience everyday life with them, in their homes."
"This journey has brought us another vision of Muslim culture and lifestyle in that beautiful country that is Morocco," conclude the two students of Gières. "We thank the students of Kenitra for their warm welcome and their joy of life. We would like to be able to welcome them and show them our customs and our lifestyle and we hope that this magnificent project continues."
