Reda Merdi

Joined ALA in 2011

Before joining ALA, I was a student at the famous Collége Royal Préparatoire Aux Techniques Aéronautiques, the Royal Moroccan Air Force High School, and only the best of the best of Moroccan scientific students get to study there. It was a military boarding school located at the biggest Air Force Base in Morocco, I have learned a lot of military values that helped me deal with every problem I’ve faced. This experience also taught me how to live by myself and to be completely independent and responsible. It also opened my eyes to the many problems that are weakening my country’s army: corruption, theft and immorality.

I first heard of ALA through my twin brother Zakaria, who joined ALA in 2010. Every time we spoke during his first year at ALA, I could see how much this school had turned him into a true intellectual and mature man. On one specific call, Zaki mentioned his plans to “start an organization that would empower children to advocate for their rights”. I was pleased to see that my brother had become an engaged young citizen with the capacity to develop new ideas and innovative solutions. I decided to apply to ALA to benefit from the same life-changing experiences.

I believe that my experience in the military made me an attractive applicant. As a student in a military school, I was challenged to identify my limitations and weaknesses. The challenges that I have faced in the air force academy ranged from being the subject of my superiors’ arbitrary decisions to having to stand still for long hours under Marrakech’s burning sun. Such experiences have pushed me to build a strong personality that is immune to hardships and intact in the face of adversity. I believe these traits of character can be a starting point for my leadership journey.

After ALA, I will attend college, and want to establish projects in the field of computing and new technologies in Africa. It has always annoyed me to see my father working on all these court files using the old fashioned papers and ink pens for the simple reason that there were no computers in Moroccan courts. I dream of making new technologies available to all Africans!