She experienced profound satisfaction working with youth and women in the town of Qelaat M’Gouna in southern Morocco. At a youth center, Lane ran a theater club, directed an English-language library, and taught a course in photography. “They had never used a camera,” she recalled. The exhibit, celebrated with a festival, turned out to be a perspective of the community through the eyes of youth. “They got photos I would never have access to.”
Cara Lane served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco from 2005 to 2007
Peace Corps Wants You
Robust Volunteer Organization Actively Recruits College Grads and Baby Boomers
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
By Cathy Murillo
[Excerpt]
Cara Lane, Morocco 2005-2007
Having completed her senior project in college on the Peace Corps, Cara Lane knew a lot about the negatives and positives of serving in the organization. Yes, sometimes volunteers are taught the incorrect dialect in-country, or they aren’t provided enough resources to complete a difficult assignment.
But the positives proved irresistible to her. “Some of the successes were intangible,” said Lane, 27, who majored in justice and peace studies and political science, and now works as an office manager for Congressmember Lois Capps. “People would say, ‘It changed my life. It changed me as a person.’”
Lane had also been an avid traveler. She had studied in Egypt, learned Arabic, and was intrigued by Islam and cultures in the Middle East. On her Peace Corps application, Lane had requested a position in the Middle East, and the only two choices are Jordan and Morocco in that region.
Her intensive research also revealed the Peace Corps to be the best financial option when comparing various overseas volunteer opportunities. It offers a decent living stipend, student loan deferment (even partial cancellation of certain loans), and $6,000 in readjustment money upon completing service.
She experienced profound satisfaction working with youth and women in the town of Qelaat M’Gouna in southern Morocco. At a youth center, Lane ran a theater club, directed an English-language library, and taught a course in photography. “They had never used a camera,” she recalled. The exhibit, celebrated with a festival, turned out to be a perspective of the community through the eyes of youth. “They got photos I would never have access to.”
As most of the neighborhood women were not getting regular physical exercise, Lane led them in yoga classes. When a women’s rights law passed in Morocco, Lane held workshops. She let women know they now had the right to divorce, and that they could marry without their father’s permission, among other legal liberties.
Lane said the toughest part of her service was when it came to an end. “The most difficult thing was leaving my town. I had worked so hard to make it a home, to win their trust, and be part of the community.”
