Visions, Why and How

My Personal Vision for My Life, My Community and the World

I can't say I didn't expect the Voices of Our Future team to leave the hardest assignment until last. All I can say is thank goodness the word count was increased because the crispy white piece of paper that I placed in front of me when starting on this assignment didn't stay blank for long.

Life Vision

My vision for my life is to never stop learning, growing and developing. I want to support those that are missing a support team and advocate on behalf of those who's voices are not heard over the din of others or at least find a way to hand them a microphone and crank up the volume on the speakers. I plan to always explore issues using a multi-faceted/multi-angle approach. I hope to better look after myself so that I can continue to pursue my life vision and to use my feminine power to make an impact.

Community Vision

A community that is supportive to all, not just those currently in favour. That bases its judgements on facts not labels and that is as tolerant as the world perceives it to be.

World Vision

I want to live in a world that is tolerant, non-judgemental, supportive, provides equal opportunities, is just and fair, doesn't forget or take advantage of the underdog, is safe and promotes personal self worth and development.

Why do you want to be a Voices of Our Future Correspondent and how will this help you achieve your vision?​

I'm well known for starting every new project that comes my way. If I had a Euro for everytime one of my family members or friends laughed when I told them of the latest adventure I had set off on, I would be one very rich person. When I saw the post about Voices of Our Future, it was no different. The terms "assignments," "training" and "mentor" drew me in like a bee to a flower in summer. Yet, there was something different about the Voices of Our Future programme. Not only did it come at a challenging time in my life, it came at a time when I was questioning what my personal vision for life was.

Through the learning materials and assignments of the past four weeks I have been able to reflect deeply on what I have achieved in the past, what I am achieving now and what I hope to achieve in the future. When I moved to the Netherlands, I had to step off the road of the social and caring profession and onto a new road. I chose the dusty and sometimes bumpy path of a writer and a photographer. Voices of Our Future and PulseWire showed me, perhaps for the first time, how I could merge my new career with parts of the old. A realisation that took me one step closer to regaining that feeling of being valuable and making a difference in the world.

If my journey is to stop here, albeit temporarily, then I have gained a valuable insight, met an extraordinary group of women and come into contact with an organisation that I hope to become a greater part of. If my journey is to continue, and I hope it does, then I look forward to watching my self-esteem, confidence and myself grow as I work through the training and engage in the mentorship programme. I look forward to progressing my personal development and further figuring out how this combination of writing and promoting global issues goes together.

The programme will allow me to learn the skills I need to bring to light situations happening in​ countries that look fine on the surface, as well as issues in developing countries and conflict zones. In particular, I wish to promote the awareness of child victims/witnesses of domestic violence, the challenges of women expats in the Netherlands and the role negative labelling plays on Turkish and Moroccan women in the Netherlands - all individuals who sometimes need a microphone. I also hope that one day I will be able to give back to VOF by becoming a mentor myself.