2 years ago, on my trip in Morocco I got into a spot of bother (not really, but I was a bit stressed when the police decided they would chaperone me - but some of them had no uniform, so I wasn't really sure who was who!)
Anyway just at the right moment when I wanted to get off the road for the day, the shop keeper of the wee shop I had stopped at, invited me to have tea with his wife - he said she would be delighted to meet me. I felt so relieved to get away from the road and welcomed into a lovely home!
A cup of tea turned into, tea and cake, a tour of the house and garden by the children, then dinner, shower, a gift of pijamas, jumper and a warm hat, and a great safe nights rest.
And the family also reassured me that the man who demanded to know all my details in the last village, was, in fact the village Mayor (he wouldn't show me any ID - so how should I know!!!) He turned up at the house later!
I left the next day feeling like I was leaving some new family members. They'd packed me some snacks, and even some olive oil from their own olive tree's. The kids all gave me a wee gift each, they invited me to stay for the week. So sweet. At the end of their drive there was a car with two men in it waiting to drive with me to my next stop - it was only a short journey so as well as being really annoying not being left on my own, it did not feel necessary! But it was nice having the family reassure me that this was official (and only because there had been some trouble recently)- I may not have continued cycling if they hadn't been so lovely and down to earth about it - the opposite of the village mayor who was getting upset with me for not wanting to give him all my details!
Anyway, back to the fundraiser. The father of the family, Mohamed, has a degenerative disease and had already lost the use of his arms, and also the sight in one eye. His family help him do the things he can no longer do. He asked me when I left to send him photo's of all the places I visit in Morocco since he probably wouldn't be able to travel much again. I kept in touch with them as much as I could. And really enjoyed getting little messages and video's from the kids! They are always inviting me back!
SO, for my birthday this year I was struggling to think about what charity to choose to raise money for (too many choices!), and I thought about helping this family a little bit. If anyone wants to donate, I would be really grateful. I am sure their wee shop isn't getting much business at the moment.
Much Love! And Thank you!!