- Moroccan youth Ayoub Mazar, 22, arrived in Bilbao a year ago, from Getxo. The beginning was very hard: he had to live on the street for a while, but, as he acknowledges, thanks to his constancy and the support of the Agharas association, he managed to get ahead. He is currently teaching Arabic at the Algorta Gazteleku and is also learning Basque and is working on the Eskutik eskura initiative, which highlights the reality of immigrants.
Where does the idea of offering classes to teach the Arabic language come from?
While living on the street, I met the Agharas Association of Barakaldo. They helped me in the naturalization process, and I started volunteering in the organization to help other young people who live on the street like me. Thus, I began to participate in the Eskutik Eskura project, which consists of counting the experience of immigrants in schools. In that sense, we went to Getxo to give a talk about local volunteering, and there, after meeting with the council, made me a proposal to teach Arab classes in the Gazteleku. I thought it could be a nice experience for me; I saw that I could start a new life.
What are the classes you teach?
We held them on Wednesday afternoon and the group is composed of nine students. Among them there is everything, also immigrants; this greatly enriches the classes, because we tell the experiences of each one. In addition to learning Arabic, we study the different cultures of Morocco, the gastronomy or the reality of immigrants. In addition, for classes not to be boring, I try to do different things every day, like workshops, etc.
You're also a professional coach. But what is that?
Coaching is related to personal motivation, and its goal is to influence people, that is: motivate. I also use it in classes to start from a positive perspective. For example, there are a lot of people in life who have no goal, who live today, who have no plan for the future. Well, through coaching, we try to find a solution to this. There are many young immigrants who are lost, and I use the Coaching resources that I learned in Morocco to try to give them that motivation, so that young people can set their goals. After all, young people on the street only need an opportunity to get the motivation. I have learned above all how that should be conveyed, and I take advantage of it to motivate young immigrants.
He works with Agharas, what's his goal?
It's a cultural association of Imazhigen or Berber of Barakaldo. Among the activities they organise are helping young immigrants living on the street, for example, I am responsible for the dinners we prepare every day. The association also offers young immigrants a temporary stop. In addition, they offer classes in Arabic, Spanish and Basque, and I am learning in Basque.