President of an NGO
Amina Laraki refuses to be
called an "extraordinary" woman: "I am a woman like the others. My strength consists in having adapted myself”,
she says. . A powerful
love for life allowed her to overcome the trauma of a bicycle accident. In 1992, a fall from a bridge in Costa Rica made
her paraplegic. Today, one
of her greatest victories is to embody the fight against disability and
inequalities through her involvement with the AMH Group, formerly known as
Moroccan Disabled People’s Association, a leader in social entrepreneurship in
Morocco. In life,
there are sometimes transformational ruptures, with a “before” and an “after”
period. Before: a
private and professional life where happy encounters helped Amina have a
faultless track record. After getting a master's of law, and pursuing political
science studies, Amina Laraki met Abdelaziz Alami, "an exceptional man, a bank
boss and a poet" who offered
her a position at the Commercial Bank of Morocco (BCM). Then Amina created “Imago”, a communications
company where she implemented skills that proved useful after the
accident because giving a meaning to her actions then became a necessity. Twenty-four years later, the AMH Group, a social
enterprise with many beneficiaries, intervenes in the fields of health, social
action, education, training and advocacy. The year 2015 is the year of awards, including
the Schwab Foundation's Social Entrepreneur of the Year award. "Acting within the Group enabled me to
foresee future social challenges and propose innovative solutions. Personally, this gave me the opportunity to
overcome difficulties and connect to others. My body obliges me to live every moment”, says Amina
Laraki who also created in 2003 with other founders, “The Art of Living”, an
organization that offers programs focused on breathing and meditation techniques. Since 2013, Amina Laraki has been President of
the Tahar Sebti Institution, a school and training institution. “Is the armchair a blocking factor? "I would have preferred to live without,
but I made it an ally. However,
disability is not what defines me. "