The Citizen

Ashely Stover in Jordan

Spring break in the United States is synonymous with bikinis, tan lines and fruity cocktails. But for ten Harvard women, spring break 2007 will evoke memories of spirit levels and mortar.

The Harvard group - seven MPP2s, an MPP1, an MPA1 and a Harvard College student - partnered with non-profit group Habitat for Humanity and twelve women from the private, all women Dar Al-Hekma College in Saudi Arabia to build two homes in the Ghor As Safi village, Jordan. Brooke
McConnell, Associate Director of the Women¹s Leadership Board and Kerry Conley, Program Manager at the Women and Public Policy Program, also participated.

Katie Selenski (MPP2) said the project was an excellent vehicle for cross-cultural bonding. “We wouldn’t have made such strong bonds [with the Saudi women] if not for the service.  It gave us a purpose and we were learning together, struggling together, and having fun together.  The project put us all on equal footing,” said Selenski.

The trip allowed “us to each come to an understanding about our
commonalities and debunk the myths and stereotypes that we both might have had about each other,” said another participant Ashely Stover (MPP2).  “We pointed to the role of both our medias in not fully portraying the diversity of thought and ideas in either culture.

“They wanted us to know they are not oppressed in a western sense. Their women¹s movement will take time, but they need cultural adjustment, not for women in the west to do anything.  They were surprised that we weren¹t pressuring them more,” said Stover.

The Harvard women also broke some of the Saudi women¹s stereotypes, says Sarah Catherine Phillips (MPP2). “They were surprised by our openness on political-religious issues like Israel/Palestine.  They expected us to align one way, but they found us to be open to their points of view,” said Phillips.

“Some [Saudi women] were surprised that we weren’t more wealthy.  I’m not sure if this is a general stereotype of Americans or just of Harvard,” added Selenski.

The idea for the project originated with Ambassador Karen Hughes, Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. Hughes visited Dar Al-Hekma College in 2005.  Eager to build ties between these women and their counterparts at U.S. universities, she contacted Harvard and Habitat for Humanity International, and the idea was born.

“We thought Jordan would provide an excellent backdrop for such an exchange,” said Philip Griffith, Director of the Habitat for Humanity Jordan Program. “Bringing the students together in a country that is new to most of them helps to strengthen the bonds between participants.”

“We were walking into a tight community.  The people were incredibly warm, and the children incredibly curious.  Over the course of the week, more and more people kept coming to help build,” says Brooke McConnell.

Phillips agreed that the environment bred a unique form of exchange. “There’s something about building a house together.  It’s so permanent, a structure that¹s going to be there for years.  We left such a mark,” said Phillips.

The journey also exposed the Harvard women to Jordan’s plight. Water is in short supply, and while the country still struggles to provide water for its people, it is also responding to an influx of Iraqi refugees. “The experience was re-energizing and re-invigorating,” said Phillips.

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