I have been hearing about the High Atlas Foundation’s ‘Imagine’ empowerment since the first week in YCC. I was so excited and curious to know more about it and to know what it is.

The first thing that came to my mind is a workshop where we will use our imagination to explore new things inside us. I can't say that I was wrong, but this is just a small part of the deeper program. "Imagine" simply is a self-empowerment program offered by HAF to everyone, especially women from rural areas.

Imagine, for me, is a trip to explore ourselves deeply inside. When Fatima Zahra, our trainer, told us to be ready to know more about ourselves, I was very confused about how this journey will be and how I will do this. Moreover, what exactly will I explore?

The two principal things to start this empowerment experience are being open-minded and excited. They were the first steps to look forward to seeing ourselves from different life visions.

When we talk about exploring, this means having general ideas about all aspects of our life visions, including feelings, relationships, money, work, body, soul, and sexuality.

It took us four days to see and feel deeply inside us and to be educated about self-employment strategies and principles, and moreover, how to use them to talk, feel our bodies, and hear our souls. It was not easy to recognize what our bodies and souls feel and need, but from the second day, we learned how to have a clear and specific vision about our future goals.

I can say that I discovered new sides of my personality, both the positive sides and aspects that I can work on. It was fun to learn about my different sides of life and to discover something new every day.

We did many practices and activities during those four days, but the one that I liked the most was the imagination workshop where we connected with ourselves and nature while hearing relaxing music and letting our imagination travel and explore the world of mysteries. What made it so special was that we could express these feelings by words and art. I even had fun seeing my colleagues painting and what the different color lines and types of art meant to them. This made me smile and travel to each person’s world.

I can say that my personality isn't the same as it was before "Imagine". I developed my understanding of life generally and of myself specifically, and now I have a clear vision about myself, what I want to develop, and how I will do it. Based on these important questions:

Where am I in what I want?

What do I want to get?

What are the challenges?

What is my growth edge?

What is my clear vision?

This week was not just a few days where we learned something new and developed new skills, but it was a chance to deal with our bodies and souls, to know that a healthy life comes with a healthy mind and soul, not only from food and sport.

I find "imagining" as a form of therapy. It makes me feel more confident and open to talking about myself and my visions and learning from others. It made the group of us closer by developing important skills such as listening and showing empathy. The last thing I want to say is that this week I learned an important lesson: "change begins with us".