Nora & My mother...

My name is Naima Zemmouri; I'm 39 years old, happily married, a mother of 2 kids, and a professional working for a fantastic company called Google. I'm the daughter of Aicha, the woman wearing the red ‘jellaba' in the picture, who has a heart of gold and whom I call my hero. The woman who left her home country Morocco to seek a better life for her children came to the Netherlands in 1979 as an immigrant. The woman who gave me the opportunity to be the independent and successful person I am today.

 

My mother has relatives in Morocco living in the town Tetouan, in a neighborhood also known as Somal. Cheap land that was given by the Moroccan government to poor families to build homes for themselves instead of living in slums. Those relatives are doing well and getting by. During her visits to Somal, my mother met Nora (22) and her family, who live close to her relatives. Nora is the daughter of Rahma and Mohamed and has five siblings, four sisters and one younger brother. They all live together in a 45m2 home. Nora is born physically handicapped and cannot move by herself, and talking is difficult. Her siblings and her parents are taking care of her. With the current condition of her family, this caring is mainly focused on the first necessities of life, such as food, clothes and water. When my mother first met her, she was so emotional that she wanted to do something for her. As they could not afford diapers, my mother asked us, and we all contributed to support this small need. I have been supporting Nora and her family since then. This year in April 2022, I went to Morocco with my family for the first time in almost six years and together with my mom, I met Nora. This family is so warm and kind that they welcomed us into their home and hosted us like family even with the little that they have. Seeing with my own eyes the conditions in which they live made me reflect and think of my mother and all the sacrifices she made to give us better lives in the Netherlands. The feeling of gratitude has never been stronger than at that very moment.

 

So why am I telling you this personal story? During my personal and professional life, I had challenges like anyone else. Still, I was also blessed with great opportunities and inspiring people to coach me through my journey in life. Being lucky to live in the Netherlands, the land of opportunities for those seeking them. One of my coaches told me at a certain point in my life, when I almost reached all my personal and professional goals, that it was time to ‘give back’. I thought long and hard about this, as giving to charity was something I already did, but somehow I could not feel or see the impact that I was making. I wanted to do something bigger and make an impact in someone's life in a way that would change their lives substantially for the better. Reflecting, that's what my mother did for me to a certain extent.

 

So today, I decided to actually ‘give back', to help Nora, by raising money for her and her family and build them a home suitable for her to live in. Raising money to buy her a wheelchair so she can move around without the help of her siblings. The goal is to raise EUR 10.000 in total. EUR 8.000 to (re)build their home and EUR 2.000 to fund a wheelchair.  Every contribution helps, even the smallest, to honor those heroes who create better lives for their children and others…. to help Nora and her family.

 

If you want to contribute to my personal journey to impact Nora’s life and honor my mother in all she did for me, I invite you to contribute by clicking on the following link. My mother, Nora, and I will be forever grateful.

 

My gratitude and appreciation also go to those who coached me and impacted my life to become a better version of myself.