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The life of Mariam Hjiouej Agha was full of obstacles. She overcame sickness on many occasions. At the age of five, she had contracted polio, which made this period of her life difficult. But she managed to successfully overcome this first obstacle. «My survival was, in itself, a miracle», she told Yabiladi.
At the age of seven, she faced another type of hardship; going to school on her own. He school was located about three kilometers away from her home in Douar Harraqa in the province of Taounate. «When my sister Latifa enrolled in school, my mother refused to let me accompany her because I was still convalescing. I had to cry and beg her several days before she was convinced», she recalled.
It is mainly thanks to her sister who helped her carry her schoolbag and held her hand every day that she was able to complete primary school. Her family then moved to Taounate for her secondary studies before she managed, on her own, to settle in Fez to start her university studies.
Diabetes, management and nutrition
«Two years after enrolling at Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah University, my studies were interrupted by the Fez riots in the early 1990s, but I then landed a position in accounting at the provincial directorate of Agriculture in Taounate. Later, I became the secretary of the provincial director in the same administration until 2002», she said.
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During the same year, she met Zain Al-Abidin Agha, a British chemist of Pakistani origin, who became her husband. She left for the United Kingdom to join him. Her integration, however, was not easy.
«In the beginning, my life was very difficult because I did not master the English language.So I decided to start language classes for immigrants who did not speak English for six months.I also worked in some medicine and food packaging factories until 2005, when my husband bought a taxi company, which I started to manage».
An experience that she describes as «enriching» because it allowed her to meet people of different origins and especially to»gain their respect and appreciation». She also remembers a senior British citizen who would not believe her when she told him that she came from Africa. «I was talking to him when he asked me about my origin. He did not know where Morocco was and was surprised to learn that it is a country in Africa. He was amazed because of my ‘white skin’», she explained.
But life became difficult again, when she was diagnosed with chronic inflammatory rheumatism in 2011, which affected her ability to perform any manual or hard labor. At his wife's bedside, her husband then offered to help her continue her studies. «I enrolled in a foundation course and I obtained the necessary diploma to access higher education in 2012, which allowed me to join De Montfort University for a bachelor’s degree followed by a master's degree in health psychology», she recalled.
Her research on type 2 diabetes allowed her to graduate with excellent marks. «The university also awarded me the prize for the best thesis. I then obtained two diplomas on the care, nutrition and management of diabetes», the Moroccan-British added, also explaining that her work revolved around this disease that she suffers from.
Supporting the youth of Ghafsai and Taounate
After a training on nutrition, recommended by a doctor in 2014, Mariam Hjiouej Agha explained that she learned «a lot» about how to control blood sugar. This pushed her to found an association with her husband to raise awareness and help people with diabetes.
«Initially, the NGO was called Wellingborough Diabetes Group but we were contacted by the Diabetes UK Foundation who proposed to support our association which we then named the Diabetes UK Wellingborough Group.Its most significant achievement was helping more than 250 people with diabetes in our city control their blood sugar and bringing in diabetes specialists from various disciplines for their training over the past five years».
The NGO has also launched an early detection program for type 2 diabetes, for the benefit of several hundred people at high risk of developing this type of diabetes but «have no noticeable symptoms», she said.
This British-Moroccan also remains attached to her country of origin, where she is launching several initiatives for young people from rural areas to encourage volunteering. «Last year, we launched a competition for the best volunteer work for the youth of Ghafsai with a 2,000-dirham prize. We also proposed another competition for the best micro-project in the city of Taounate», she said.
In November, Mariam Hjiouej Agha and her husband also founded the Ajyal association for sustainable development in Taounate, which they decided to entrust to Mariam's sister. This NGO notably supervises young project leaders in collaboration with a Moroccan bank and local authorities in the province.
In addition, following the coronavirus pandemic, the Moroccan-British launched a «free remote clinic» and a «Diabetes Challenge» in order to answer the questions of Moroccans suffering from diabetes and provide them with support.
