Nadia BEZAD

Nadia BEZAD

President of an NGO

"I feed on my dreams. At every stage of my life, I have one. The one that I have at the moment is to open a co-educational institution for orphans and elderly people, with a garden where they can meet”, says Nadia Bezad, a doctor and energetic figure of the fight against AIDS in Morocco. Relieving pain gives meaning to her existence. Helping others is her driving force because, for her, "every day is a little life". After her studies, she became a dermatologist: "A skin lesion may reveal an organic as well as a psychological evil. Listening is essential in the care given to patients. It is this dimension that interests me”, she says. From her schoolmistress mother, she inherited not only the taste for studies and perseverance but also the humanitarian fiber. Her meeting with Dr. Othman Akalay was decisive and influenced her choice to devote herself to the fight against AIDS, a pandemic that threatened the world at the time. During an internship in the United States, she was upset by the testimony of a teenage girl infected with the virus. Encouraged by Dr. Marc Gentilini who founded the Pan-African Organization for the fight against AIDS, she founded the “Opals Morocco” organization. Princess Lalla Fatima-Zahra, now deceased, supported her approach. This NGO commitment propelled her into another dimension. She designed action plans, made decisions, consultations and travels. Opals Morocco is also open to people of sub-Saharan origin thanks to an agreement signed with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. In 2012, the death of his brother causes a painful shock: "I no longer see life as before. He would have loved to live so many more things. This is what makes me want to go on. I am on Earth, what else can I do well?”, she asks. Nadia Bezad received the Knight Badge of the National Order of the Legion of Honor in Paris in 2015.

Yasmine BELMAHI

100 Femmes

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