How did you discover VoluntEars?

Athena, who was in my MSc in Neuroscience course at Oxford and went on a previous trip, told me about VoluntEars.

Why did you join VoluntEars?

It seemed unique and fun!

Why did you choose the Morocco trip?

Timings worked out in terms of conducting fieldwork. I do wish I went on a longer trip!

What were you looking forward to?

Seeing Morocco and meeting other deaf people.

Were you worried about anything before the trip?

I think I was worried about not knowing BSL.

What words would you use to describe your experience in Morocco?

Chaotic and fun!

What was your funniest or most memorable experience?

I loved the quad biking so much LOL. It really was a Mad Max Fury Road moment for me.

What did you enjoy the most on the trip?

I really enjoyed visiting the Moroccan deaf school and interacting with the kids there.

How do you think you benefitted from the experience?

Meeting deaf people from different regions of the world broadened my understanding of the deaf experience. The efforts undertaken by VoluntEars are genuinely groundbreaking, transformative, and empowering. In fact, what VoluntEars has accomplished presents a rich, unexplored trove and foundation for anthropological inquiry, and I am keen to incorporate into my Master’s thesis. I’m also preparing this thesis in the hopes that the findings will be an anchor in bringing VoluntEars toward the forefront of public awareness.

What did you like about the VoluntEars trip?

I really liked meeting everyone. Everyone was warm and friendly!

How could we make the trip better in the future?

I think everything that could have been improved boils down to the trip not being long enough, but I am fully understanding why it was a weekend trip. I wish I learned basic BSL and fingerspelling prior to the trip, but I think that was my own fault. However, I think that feeling of being an outsider even in a group of deaf people was important to my own personal development.