Asma Moustaoui

Asma Moustaoui was born in 1990 in Morocco .and moved to MK in 2013 on marriage, since her husband (now ex-husband) lived there. She knew very little about MK but learned that there was plenty of green space. She appreciates MK’s climate and atmosphere, having come from Marrakesh, which is very hot and full of tourists. She has now settled in Glebe Farm near Woburn Sands, near to her and her son’s favourite place, Woburn Safari Park. Asma has just started a new job with Great Linford Parish council as community development co-ordinator in Conniburrow. She is also director of a non-profit organisation she started 2 years ago, offering hiking/camping trips for children, having been inspired by her regular trips to the Atlas Mountains with her dad when she was young. She has combined this with Rooda Abdillahi’s project, a school homework club; they also now plan a weekly café in Conniburrow related to women’s stories of food, which should start in July 2024.

Growing up in Morocco, as a Muslim, Asma was a professional reciter of the Quran, a poet and artist. She has been able to bring these skills into play in MK: as coordinator and calligrapher at a Museum project, singing Arabic hymns in a choir for different faiths, and making contacts with other artists from the African Diaspora. She feels the work of these local artists should be represented at MK Museum. Asked what is missing in Milton Keynes, she says: ‘more opportunities for young people and youth-led projects …and for local artists’. Information about MK and about local services available to residents is sometimes rather hidden away, and should be broadcast more widely. She wants her son to be aware of opportunities of all sorts, both within the community and elsewhere, for his future. Finally, Asma says that Milton Keynes has shaped her as a person, even though she grew up in Morocco until she was 23. MK has offered her a lot of opportunities to follow her interests and skills and achieve things that she really enjoys, and to connect with her son. She loves the green spaces and lakes and its overall location.