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Roots to Grow & Wings to Fly

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Roots to Grow & Wings to Fly

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Traditions of the World

Home Blog Traditions of the World
Showing: 1 - 2 of 2 RESULTS
Traditions of the World

Pandora Jar

updated on October 18, 2022October 4, 2021
Traditions of the World

Opening the Pandora Box

updated on October 18, 2022February 24, 20210 Comment on Opening the Pandora Box

About Author

Hi! I'm Hind Khettouch
Hi! I'm Hind Khettouch

Moroccan/German entrepreneur, woman, wife and mother living in Germany trying to construct a coherent story for my multicultural existence and create a sense of belonging to both of my cultural worlds.

📍Munich

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  • My objective is to unpack these treasures, translate and adapt them for  today's multicultural world. 

Why❓

Because it is the only way to:

📌 Help our children develop a positive and balanced self-identity and  build deep and strong connections with both their heritage, languages and the society they live in and belong to. It is possible yes! 

Kanzyana targets Moroccan immigrant parents (non-parents, non-moroccans are also welcome) and aims to accompany them in their parenting abroad journey. 

Our voices and stories, need to get louder, our beautiful dialects and languages too. 

About Me đŸ€“

I am Moroccan, I also hold a German passport, I have lived in a few countries (France, UK, UAE) but I am Moroccan, from head to toe. 

I don't buy into that "citizen of the world" and "Ms International" extravaganza :D (IYKYK) I was born and raised in Rabat but my roots are deep into the High-Atlas Mountains from one side of the family  and the Anti-Atlas range on the other. I am also aware. that identity is 
- not fixed
- not singular 
- not a possession 
- not held in the control of any entity 
- not definitional 

My experiences, travels, studies ... have all shaped the woman I am today and my identity is constantly being made and remade. 

My roots do not define me but they are not something I need to upgrade from or apologise for and this is what I want to convey as part of being unapologetically who we are. 

... and this is what motivates this project: Kanzyana 

I believe in a wonderfully diverse world. Diversity enriches societies and broaden horizons. It is also an important foundation for creating and maintaining identity, belonging and citizenship values.

#belonging #immigrant #immigrantparents #earlychilhood # #celebratediversity #unlockingtreasures #diversityandinclusion #kanzyana #diversitymatters #inclusionmatters #representationmatters #equality #equity #disabilityawareness #womenempowerment #culture #community
  • We live our lives based on our experiences, and to be empathetic we must listen to the experiences and life stories of others. It is important that children understand that there are lots of people in this world with various beliefs, skin colours, customs, sizes, physical/mental abilities, and ways of life.

Leading education theorists, have written about the importance of cultivating young children’s abilities to communicate across differences as an essential part of education in a globalised world. Diversity activities teach young children to respect and celebrate the differences in all people (even their own). 

The commitment to embracing cultural diversity begins in childhood and it doesn’t happen by chance. I believe that it is our responsibility as immigrant parents to push for the integration of these topics in our children’s curriculum. We all carry our cultures with us in everything we do. They’re all around us-  the food that we eat, the language we speak, the stories we choose to tell them. When children see their families’ cultures represented and celebrated, and when they are guided to find harmony between both worlds, they are significantly more likely to develop positive identities.

No matter where we come from it is important to talk to our children, from a very young age, about these things. If you belong to the ethnic, religious 
 majority you have the responsibility to actively expose your children to as much diversity as possible and if you are an immigrant or a minority you need to equip your children with the right tools for them to own their diverse background, celebrate it and share parts of it with their environment.
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#storyteller #folktale #storytime #story #storytelling #storysunday  #celebratediversity #unlockingtreasures #diversityandinclusion #storytelling #kanzyana #diversityforkids
  • Stay true to yourself.

Such a cliché advice. But you cannot be someone else, so you better understand what it really means. 

Of course it is easier for some people than others. When people who look like you are constantly portrayed as backward, extreme ... it might seem like a challenge and a daily struggle to push back all these negative ideas that are sort of imposed on you. 

Being unapologetic doesn't mean refusing to adapt, or not respecting the law, it is simple,y about not having to feel bad about the way you want to live. 
It is about not having to apologise about the space you are taking and about refusing to be invisible. 

As much as this concept has been kind of monopolised by "self-care" gurus, for me it really is about survival. I don't know if you can relate, but to me it feels like the only way I can continue to exist (through myself, but also through my child and inshallah my grandchildren ...) is about embracing who I am, what makes me unique, know and say loud and proud what I like and dislike and what I stand for.

#parenthood #parenting #motherhood #momlife #family #baby #love #fatherhood #kids #parents #dadlife #mom #mumlife #parentingtips #motherhoodunplugged #parentlife #parentingabroad #familytime #mother #children #unapologeticparenting #beyourself #selflove #selfcare #kanzyana #rootsandwings
  • As far as I can remember, there has always been a place to which I belonged, a place I called home that nobody and nothing will ever take away from me. It is a place, a group of people, a set of rules ... with whom I connect on so many levels. 

As a mother, I always thought that my child would "naturally" feel secure, safe, valued, proud of his family, of his roots and of his background ... I mean why not?

I was not totally right. We lead a pretty comfortable life. We are proud of where we come from, proud of who our families are, our heritage, our religion ... My child is loved and he knows it. We make conscious choices everyday (as our means allow) to offer him the best experiences ... In the daily (outside) life we do what everybody else is doing BUT outside is full of stories that are not ours, voices that do not speak our truth and images that do not represent us ... 

How visible are we? How aknowldged are we? In other words: "How much do we belong?" 

Do you have an answer?

#parenthood #parenting #motherhood #momlife #family #baby #love #fatherhood #kids #parents #dadlife #mom #mumlife #parentingtips #motherhoodunplugged #parentlife #parentingabroad #familytime #mother #children
  • Last year for Halloween, someone in my kid's school was wearing a long dress, a lot of jewellery, a scarf around the waist. A lot of colours, flowers ... so I asked her: "what are you dressed up as?". 
The little girl proudly said: "Ma maman said I am dressed up as a Moroccan" so I replied: 
"Oh you are dressed up like me?" 

Poor kid was 7 at the time, she didn't get it and I just complimented her on her pretty costume and moved on. But yeah parents, please don't do that. Educate yourself, educate your kids ... you can do better and you have NO excuse đŸ€Ą
  • Spooky season 🎃

Is Halloween part of your cultural heritage? have you recently adopted it as part of your family traditions? Or do you just refuse to introduce new traditions that might mean nothing to you or that might go against your beliefs ?

Last year I came across a blogpost where a mother (living in the US) explained why she does not want her children to be part of Halloween celebrations because of religious reasons... and of course that's fine.

I truly believe that each one of us should be allowed to adopt or reject whatever traditions or celebrations they don't like.  But that's not why I am talking to you about this post. 

The blogger was explaining how they, as a family, either leave the house or make their children turn all the lights off, be quiet and pretend they are not home. This way trick or treaters would not ring their bell. 

I kept asking myself... why? đŸ€”

First, you don't owe strangers an explanation (you owe it to your children though) so you can leave a note asking people not to ring your bell or simply open your door with a smile and tell them that you don't have any candy for them because your are not taking part in the celebration 

... it is your RIGHT, it is NORMAL so act like it. 

Don't go hiding like you're doing something wrong because this is the message you are sending your children... 

I also want to make another point. If you (as an adult)  find it too hard to explain your argument to others and prefer to hide in your own home, imagine one second how hard it is for a school-aged child to stand up for themselves.

This is why it is important to
1- Talk to your children and teach them to be UNAPOLOGETIC about who they are and this you can only achieve with time, coherence and consistency 
2- Do your part as a parent in the family but also in the community. 

So if you celebrate I hope you have a lot of fun tonight, if you don't celebrate I hope you take advantage of the sales on candies and chocolate starting tomorrow 💙

#kanzyana #rootsandwings #hallloween
  • I am very happy to announce that I have joined the amazing @miniglotte team as a Co-Founder. 

MINIGLOTTE is a Munich startup that offers the first box that encourages language learning between the age of 0-3 years through play! 

First created by Afi Huguette Kreyling: A Teacher, Speech Therapist, Mom, Chocolate Lover and Language Nerd :) 

Afi and I very quickly clicked and from our first conversations we realised that our projects and missions completed each other. So we decided to take this journey together. 

Our products are primarily designed to support families who want to want to build cultural bridges, teach their children their native language, and are looking for child-friendly material. 

Miniglotte is the story of two mothers with a passion for languages, cultures and inclusion who strive to offer parents and children the opportunity to reach their full potential. 

We support you in your multilingual and multicultural parenting journey. #miniglote #founder #cofounder #languageoutofthebox #womeninbusiness
#bilingual #multicutural #multilingual #mehrsprachigkeitisteingeschenk #rootsandwings
  • The person in the picture is Aicha Echenna. She is one of the most prominent Moroccan activists. She passed away yesterday. 

Her association “Solidarite Feminine” (Female Solidarity), offered not only a shelter but also professional training, literacy courses and childcare to single mothers. She helped in the empowerment of one of Morocco’s most vulnerable and marginalised group. 

Aicha Echenna should be celebrated everywhere and needs to be considered a role model and not only in Morocco or that part of the world. 

Every time we talk about inspiring Muslim women we often go way too far in the past. To the point that they are not relatable anymore (Google it if you don’t believe me)

The idea that inspiring Muslim women are something of the past doesn't serve the purpose. It conveys the belief that we need to "go back" to a something we aren’t even sure of.

 -- Before the instagram brigades get on their horses: I am not assuming Aicha Chenna's (Allah yrhemha) religion and all that irrelevant blah blah but her work was shaped, challenged and has evolved in a background coated in religion --

Any way back to role models. 

We very often hear about the importance of role models. Research shows that role models have three core benefits. 

They:
 - Represent and widen the idea of what is attainable, 
 - Inspire those who identify with them to be more ambitious and always aim higher.
 - Demonstrate growth mindset. 

If you are a Muslim woman (believer or not) your identity will more often than not be defined by some orientalist, biased and simplistic stigma. Many women like me are "forced" to prove these ideas wrong constantly. 

As parents with a migration background, the invisibility of CONTEMPORARY relatable role models, means that our children will grow up in a world where every single person idolised or admired is either from a different gender or a different ethnic, religious ... group. 

Sometimes our role models are closer to us than we believe... say their name, celebrate them, raise them. Who is your role model? And why?
  • Muslim women have always fought against the obligation but also for the right to wear the veil.  To this day, they choose to wear AND /OR burn their  veils as an act of political dissent. 

Don’t let the mainstream western discourse fool you because that same discourse only seems to be concerned when violence against brown women is perpetrated by brown men (especially if they are not our oil and gas buddies). 
— “White men are saving brown women from brown men” is a quote from Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak in her book “Can the subaltern speak?”. — 

We MUST support the struggle of Iranian women against the compulsory wearing of the veil. As a woman and as a Muslim woman I share their anger but I also support the women who choose to wear it and I support their right to FULL citizenship.

Iranian women have led the Iranian revolution to abolish the monarchy in 1979 and have never stopped being at the forefront of EVERY social and political movement since then. The fight of the Iranian women today is a fight for freedom and civic rights. They deserve better than seeing their cause being instrumentalised and politically recuperated by radical and far right parties. 

The instrumentalisation  and political recuperation of what is happening right now is not new ( we have seen it over and over again since the colonial era’s early days, the war on terror 
) and history tells us that it will do far more harm than good to women all around the world.
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Kanzyana

My name is Hind Khettouch, I am a Moroccan/German entrepreneur.

My mission is to empower and accompany you in your “raising children abroad” journey.

I design and develop innovative and modern educational resources and tools to build bridges between cultures and expose children from different backgrounds to the diversity the world has to offer.

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