Our Final Presentation

Getting ready to start the AGM

Underway

The lovely Aicha (Partnership Committee)

L-R: Chadia (Networking), Ilham (President), Loubna (Treasurer), Hayat (Recruitment), Laila (Comms)

Because our client, Ilham, was going overseas on 21 March, we had to finish our assignment a few days early - and it timed perfectly with the client's first Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Friday 16 March.

The AGM started at 5.30pm with about 45 women in attendance.  Of course it was all in french so was a bit lost on Karen and myself......I can follow a lot of written french but not spoken.  Towards the end of the AGM I presented a brief summary of the Final Presentation we had prepared - it was up on the screen in french and I had it in front of me on my laptop in english.  Of course I spoke in english which some of the ladies understood but not all - hence the french version of the presentation. 

Karen and I got a lovely surprise at the end when Ilham and her committee presented us with a beautiful leather handbag each - it was a lovely way to end a great three weeks with Ilham and her amazing, dynamic group of ladies.

This week (Monday and Tuesday) we have just been wrapping up some final items, going through some MS Project and Excel tips for them, and having the final meeting with the client and IBM Morocco.

#ibmcsc morocco

Cool cats

Morocco has heaps of stray cats, very few dogs though.  An alarming number of the cats seem to be pregnant which I suppose is to be expected. The only good thing is that they seem to be tolerated by people and not abused - most are quite friendly even though they live on the streets.

In a lot of restaurants don't be surprised if you look down under the table to find a pair of beseeching eyes looking up at you!

Here are some photos of these cool cats.....and a couple of dogs

Let us in! It's dinner time!

We're still waiting!

It's nice and warm on top of this oven!

Now where is the nearest food stall?

I've had a bad day

I have my bed, the sun - what more could I want?!

This carpet is comfortable!

I'm HAPPY!

This sun is nice

Grooming buddies

Do you mind? I'm cleaning myself

I'm watching you!

All this food begging has worn me out

I won't look at you unless you buy me some FOOD!

Having a post-feed snooze under the table

Night prowler

I'm the queen of the world up here

Sunning myself

Cleaning time again

Siesta time at the Casbah

Hope this car isn't going anywhere soon!

Couldn't you afford a Mercedes?

Singing for my supper at La Rive cafe, Sale

Bugger off, this seat's taken

That bloody hairdresser is experimenting with dyes on me again

My good deed - feeding the cat clan

Post-feed kitten cuddles

Mum and kitten having an afternoon nap

Man I'm good looking

Mum Mum look at me! I'm down here!

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Getting married in Morocco?!

Going back to our weekend in Fes......our guide Thami shared some interesting insights into preparations that bridegrooms-to-be need to undertake - if they don't do a good enough job of this they risk the wrath of their future mother-in-law as well as their bride-to-be!

The groom is expected to buy the bride an expensive "belt" - or if he can't afford the belt, a belt buckle.  Here is an example of a belt - they can cost thousands, we saw one that was priced at about $55,000:

A $55,000 Bridal belt 

Other options if the groom can't afford a belt - buckles, necklaces.....all gold with gems

The traditional way for a bride to be carried to her wedding is by a carriage - below the carriage is on the right of the photo.  Then the wedding couple sit on a throne at the ceremony, see below on left.  These are not for sale, they are rented.  In the Fes medina there was a whole section dedicated to the making and rental of these thrones and carriages, mostly done in white with gold and/or silver.

Another tradition is that the bride and female guests all get their hands hennaed.  We were warned by CDS against getting this done as we might have a reaction to the henna but otherwise it is safe, no needles used!

A bit different from an Aussie wedding!

#ibmcsc morocco

Our Deliverables

Karen, Hafida (Training Committee) & I

Karen and I are presenting our Final Presentation / Report to the client tonight at their Annual General Meeting.  Ilham (President) has seen everything we have produced so far and the other committee members have seen most of it - and they seem very happy with it all. 

Essentially what we have produced for them are documents and templates that they can use within their committees and for running their events, that will help them be more organised and professional.

The main deliverable is a Team Charter that includes how they will work together as an NGO (Non-Government Organisation - what we would call a non-profit in Australia), as well as the roles and responsibilities of all their officers (e.g. Committee Heads) and process flows for their main processes (e.g.. running training days, running a networking event, recruitment).

Other deliverables we have produced to help them are:

• Membership spreadsheet - to track their members and mentor/mentee pairings
• Project/Partnership spreadsheet (Karen is a whiz with MS Excel so has produced some amazing, yet easy-to-use spreadsheets) - to track their projects/events and partners/sponsors for those events
• Meeting Minutes template
• List of suggested services and tools they could use to increase productivity, effectiveness, and revenue e.g. blogs, pay-per-click, Netmeeting (at present they rely on face-to-face meetings only which is a problem as all of them are really busy professional women)
• Training Manual template
• Project Management and Microsoft Project training presentation - I had to squash about 6 days training into 2 hours, and presented this to the group last Friday

 We also provided numerous suggestions for their financial sustainability - this is extremely important to them as they want to be able to continue to do the great work they do even after their current financial sponsorship ceases at end of 2013.

Ilham (President) and Chadia (Secretary General & Networking Committee Head)

It has been a joy working with Ilham and her team - they are all such energetic, lively, committed, friendly women.  They made us feel at home straight away and we have had lots of laughs.  I am even used to the traditional greeting between females here - a kiss on each cheek starting with the right cheek (starting with the left cheek is the French way apparently!).  And if you know the woman very well, the kisses can be quite long!

Walking around the streets you also see men greeting each other the same way, also they have no qualms about walking along hand-in-hand or hugging each other. A bit different from our more "macho" culture!

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It had to happen eventually....

Several of the team members have gotten sick over the past few weeks - first Amy and Austin on day 1 (I suspect it was the under-cooked chicken I saw on the lunch plates), Amy again the following week, Karen had stomach cramps one night, and Tej had them for 4 days recently so couldn't really eat etc.

So it was my turn this week.  Straight after breakfast on Wednesday I felt really sick and it got worse during the day - seemed to be a mix of flu symptoms and gastro - very achy, stuffed nose, and all the other joys.  So it was straight to bed for me that night at 6.15pm, slept through till 7.20am the next day but didn't really feel any better.  I was very thankful for the Gastro kit my doctor gave me, the anti-nausea pills especially as that was the worst part.  Contemplated staying in bed on Thursday but we had to complete our Final Presentation and Team Charter, plus translate them both into french by the end of the day!  Thank goodness for Google Translate, it was fiddly but not too onerous.  Felt a little better that evening after a quick Skype call with Jailan from CDS in USA, so headed out with everyone for an italian dinner.  Unfortunately I went downhill from there so couldn't enjoy the lovely pasta.  Another early'ish night and woke up today (Friday) feeling much better.

I think part of the problem here could be that refridgeration seems to be optional - a lot of the dairy products etc seem to be left sitting out for hours which can't be good for it!  I expect we'd build up an immunity over time but not in the 4 short weeks we are here.  So I am being very careful about what I eat now, don't want a repeat episode!

#ibmcsc morocco

Daily exercise

In order to combat all the lovely pastries, cakes, bread etc we are always being offered here, I have joined the "running group" at 6.30am each week day, though can't run with my injured knee so it's a 50 minute power walk.  We have a very picturesque route - along our street to the Medina, down the hill past the cemetery to the coast line, around the coast road, up past the Casbah, then turn around and go back.

I did one day on my own as no one else turned up in the lobby - not recommended apparently but I felt safe enough - at least it's daylight by 6.30am.  It was only afterwards that one team's client told them that the road we walk down to the coast road is not safe - "bad things happen" !!  Not sure if he means real live baddies or boogie men from the cemetery - haven't seen any of either so far!

The cemetery

The Casbah

Sunrise on a boat

The Casbah and surrounding houses

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Fun in Fes - Part 2

Had a great breakfast at the Riad then most of us set out to do some shopping (Amy stayed behind to catch up on sleep she didn't get the night before on the hard divan!).  Had a good time bargaining, the shopkeepers were all so friendly and chatty.  Bought two lovely paintings, a silver teapot with tray and glasses (they use them here for the mint tea) and a few other bits and pieces. 

The first painting purchase - mine is on the top, second from the right (in yellow/brown tones)

The owner / artist at the second place I bought a painting

My painting is third from the top, on the right hand side (only part of it)

Beautiful window lattice work, overlooking the medina street

A working fountain in the medina

Headed back to the Riad at about 11.30 to pick Amy up, then after a quick lunch we hired a mini bus to take us around the areas outside the Medina, up into the hills on both sides so that we could see the whole of the medina and appreciate how large it is.

Our driver, Mustafa

Part of the Fes Medina - it's massive!

The Royal Palace

Up at the Mausoleum

Overlooking the Medina with the snow-capped Atlas mountains in the background

At the Mausoleum

Got the 3.50pm train back to Rabat - amazingly both our train trips left on time if not a minute or so early - we were warned to expect them to run up to 30 minutes late!  Got home then had a quick catchup dinner with some of the team who didn't come, then back to a nice, normal, not-rock-hard large bed!  Bliss!

#ibmcsc morocco