HAF trainers provided the first two days of an IMAGINE workshop on October 23-24 in the Tazart commune in Al Haouz Province. Twenty-four women from the Attahadi Association for the Development of Rural Women were in attendance.

One woman commented, “As women in the Tazart commune, we are very strong and powerful. We just need to expand our knowledge and our experiences, so we need a good support system and people to guide us to create a project for our group.”

Other women expressed themselves as follows:

• “We need to create more love in our life. We need to love ourselves first, then others.”
• “We are courageous to be out of our houses and attending an IMAGINE workshop. We wish to receive other workshops in the future.”
• “I didn’t go to school, and now I know how to read and write from literacy classes even though I have received negative words from people since I have a clear vision and goal.”
• “We respect ourselves by caring for ourselves, being strict in our work at home, respecting others, and adapting to the change.”
• “If we are not obliged to work, and we have enough money, we prefer to be volunteering, creating youth projects, supporting social work, working with associations, giving experiences and knowledge to others concerning artisans, supporting others, teaching others how to make carpets, and supporting the women for creating projects.”

One other woman summed up her feelings by saying, “I believed in myself, and I worked hard in different jobs until I built a house for myself and for my children. I can say now that life is easy if we know how to live. I’m now an independent woman, Alhamdolilah, and I would like to support others by sharing my experiences of my life with them.”