Shorouq - The Best Looking, Most Intelligent Sister

August 6, 2011

To Whom It May Concern:
I have been asked to provide a letter of recommendation for Ms. Shorouq Fakhouri, and I am very pleased and honored to do so. I have known Shorouq for more than two years, in which time I have found her to be a consummate professional, able administrator, and passionate advocate for the teachers and children of Jordan. She is simply one of the finest human beings I know.
I first met Shorouq when I contacted UNRWA offering them educational resources for their schools. I met with the Director of Education who introduced me to Shorouq. She was immediately enthusiastic, had a great grasp on the potential benefits the resources would offer, and promptly volunteered to help me in any way possible. She followed through on that promise, as she always does. She has a very strong sense of integrity, and it serves her well.
On several occasions, I had the opportunity to see her working with teachers and students in the field. She is very kind, supportive, and understanding. They all reacted well to her authentic approach, and I saw many signs of the good work they had accomplished together. Shorouq motivates people with her enthusiasm and her intelligence, she leads them honestly, and she keeps them working together with her empathy and trust.
I have had the great pleasure of discussing theory and practice often with Shorouq. She is very bright and well informed in the literature of her field. She is passionate, and lives those theories for all to see. I couldn’t imagine a better resource for those teachers – she has the unique ability to blend theory and practice, and to motivate others to make the same connections. I saw evidence of this in each school that I visited.
Shorouq’s interests are not limited to her own job and its responsibilities. She helped me make many contacts in the region, allowing me to work with schools all over Jordan and in Palestine. She is a generous peer, and networks very efficiently. Shorouq brings people together naturally, and nurtures her relationships. She is a great associate, and a better mentor. I was constantly amazed as I recognized the breadth of her influence, the depth of her contributions to education.
I have no doubt that Shorouq will be a tremendous asset to any program or institution she chooses to work with. She has my highest recommendation! Please feel free to contact me if you require any further information.

Sincerely,


Michael Morsches

Working With The UN in Jordan

I hadn't worked with international aid agencies since my days in Yemen, some twenty plus years ago. While there, I interacted with several international entities, and my experiences weren’t very positive. As a matter of fact, If it had been for these respected groups, I never would have worked internationally again.
I was living in an Eritrean refugee camp, teaching English, helping another Peace Corps Volunteer build a school, and doing some medical work (mostly rehydration therapy). One agency had put the camp doctor into a difficult position with the local Yemenis, and he was eventually arrested and deported leaving me to do healthcare (I had a medical book). They then had the wonderful idea of buying the refugees a refrigerated truck so that these fishermen could catch fish and take them to market. The agency never coordinated with the Yemeni government, and the truck never got licensed. It sat in the middle of the camp for the two years I was there as a defacto jungle gym for the kids.
The second group I had to work with was more vexing however. The office in the capital was staffed by some European party animals that interacted mostly at expat parties. They seldom visited the camp, and occasionally sent some directive that was ignored. One such order was that I was to remove myself from the camp, as I did not have their clearance. The elders told me to just wait, and that the folks in the main office would soon forget - they did, probably the effects of alcohol and drugs. It really left a bad taste in my mouth watching these esteemed agencies ignore or manipulate the refugees they pretended to serve. I chalked it up to my naiveté and went about my business.
It would be a few decades before my faith in international aid agencies would be restored. It happened when I visited two Palestinian refugee camps; one in Jerusalem, one in Jordan.
Working with a US philanthropic organization, I contacted officials in Jerusalem and Amman offering to provide their schools with free educational resources. I was amazed at the cooperation I received, and at the level of caring and expertise of the people I worked with. Yeah, the bureaucracy was probably as convoluted as those I had previously experienced, but this organization - The United Nations Relief Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) knew how to put the right people "on the ground" where it counted. From the lower level administration to the supervisors and most of the local teachers, I worked with some of the most committed and talented people I have ever met.
The situation in Palestine and Jordan is not pleasant, and the conditions these people work in are far from ideal. Yet their positive nature and real desire to help students transcends their circumstances. At every school and site I visited, I met scores of teachers and administrators I would be proud to work with anywhere. I didn't see the prevalent dissatisfaction and disaffection I experience in so many schools here in the US, nor did I see the self-serving ideologies that have developed amongst the teacher groups here in America. I did see people making very meager salaries, doing a great deal of work, focusing on the welfare of their students. Very humbling indeed.
I worked with a few key administrators who were fantastic. They were very passionate about their work, and I could see the effect their enthusiasm had on the teachers they worked with. Most importantly, they treated the teachers with dignity and respect, something I have not always enjoyed from my superiors. I have had many long discussions about teaching and philosophy with these folks and have been very amazed. Despite the fact that they are grossly under compensated, God got it right when he put them into their roles!
Before you protest, I am not romanticizing these educators, administrators, or the organization either. There were some who were detached, unhappy, maybe even a bit dissident. There might have been a few administrators that weren’t always helpful, but that was the exception not the rule. The difference is that they didn't come to infect the larger groups - they were ignored and minimized. The worst experience I had doing hundreds of hours of workshops was silence from a handful of teachers. My typical experience was working with excited, intelligent, and informed educators who were willing to process their experiences and entertain new possibilities to improve their pedagogy. An ideal place for someone like me.
I can't express my respect for these teachers and supervisors, nor my admiration for the work they do facing bleak circumstances. I can say that I am very proud to be associated with them, and that I pray that my two daughters find these kind of leaders as they continue their education.