Blog 4: Homeless in Morocco

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    As we have been driving through various towns, I have noticed a lot of people sitting on the sidewalks in the middle of the day. I found this odd because I figured most people would be at work at that time. This made me believe that those individuals may be unemployed or homeless. 

    We asked Hamid a few days ago what the homeless population is like in Morocco, and he said that is was a lot less than the States because people here are so community based that they welcome in relatives or friends who are struggling with open arms. While this may be true, there are still approximately 700,000 homeless in Morocco, with about 30,000 of that being children (Padmaraj). According to The Bergen Project, this homeless population was increased by the Structual Adjustment Policy, which had underfunding and a misallocated budget, causing many people to lose their homes (Padmaraj). The government has addressed this issue and is beginning to create more shelters, but there is still a long way to go (Padmaraj). 

    In America, we have approximately half a million homeless people, which was surprisingly less than Morocco. America has a lot of projects and funding to help the homeless, such as federally funded housing, the right to shelter, and  prevention and education (Coalition for the Homeless). 

    I think that this large difference in homeless population comes greatly from lack of the same resources in Morocco than that in the US. However, I believe both situations need to fix the deeper issue. It can be related to fixing a technical problem vs an adaptive problem. Both places can create shelters or homes for these people (technical problem), but if they are not fixing the problem that is causing the homelessness (adaptive), it will be an endless cycle. Some examples of problems that would need adaptive fixes are lack of education, continued misallocation of funds, and the lack of a drive to find employment. It is very hard to change people’s habits, or to change a society that has been a certain way for years, but if we do not have uncomfortable change, nothing with actually change in the future. 

https://borgenproject.org/addressing-homelessness-in-morocco/ 

https://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/proven-solutions/ 




Comments

  1. Cora KeberJune 1, 2022 at 11:52 AM

    Annabel—What a great observation and post. I felt as though I saw less homeless or maybe less begging than in other countries I have visited so seeing your post caught my eye. It seems as though Morocco has a 0.019% homeless population with 36.91 million population and 700,000 homeless. According to The State of Homelessness in America, we have a 0.2% homeless population in the US. Not so sure the importance of the numbers but it is nice to see a percentage comparison to make it understandable of the relevance of the issue. I would agree that what we saw and experience in Morocco is a deeper sense of community thus caring for one another. It would be interesting to see maps where populations exist. I would imagine the larger the city with more temperate climates will bring a rise in a homeless population as opposed to rural and less desirable climates. I am sure you have heard the saying if you are not part of the solution then you are part of the problem. In reading our book Leadership on the Line, the chapter about giving the work back provides four intervention tactics for leadership which include make observations, ask questions, offer interpretations and take action (Heifetz & Linsky, 2002). In this observation of a homeless population you made great observations, asked questions and offered interpretations from a technical and adaptive stand point. What do you think are some actions to take in looking and assessing the issue of homelessness in the US and Morocco?

    Resources:
    Heifetz, R. & Linksy, M. (2002). Leadership on the line. Harvard Business Review Press.

    https://www.nhipdata.org/local/upload/file/The-State-of-Homelessness-in-America.pdf

    ReplyDelete

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