Choosing passion over pain: Non-profit MATEEN encourages individuals to chase their dreams

Art Theatre Troupe is a community-based organisation funded by UNDP via MATEEN, which was founded in 2016 as the Kingdom’s first and largest non-profit network.  The network supports over 50 community-based organisations through grants promoting projects in women’s empowerment, municipal services, community building, health, local government partnerships, youth skills training and youth advancement.

Theatre Troupe is one such organisation that uses theatre to help people express themselves and build stronger communities.

Without hesitation, Safa immediately applied to join the troupe.

“I was worried they might reject me,” she said. “I had been rejected for jobs in the past due to my disability. Most spaces are not disabled-friendly.”

Fortunately, her fears were unfounded. The theatre community welcomed her and she soon found herself learning the art of expression through interchange alongside 24 other participants.

Safa, now 32, explains what this meant to her.

“The project allowed me to engage with other people in a way I’d never done before,” she said. “The community had so many people of different religions, nationalities and backgrounds. For many of them, it was the first time they’d collaborated with a person with a disability. I inspired and got inspired by those around me.”

Theatre infused Safa with new skills and motivation. She found her voice and even wrote her first short sketch for a play called “The Maestro”. Performing it with the youth group before a live audience filled her with a sense of pride and accomplishment.

“I am not a failure! I am a girl, like all girls,” she said.  “I have a right to study, to work, to achieve my ambitions, and to live in peace,” she said in her sketch.

Today, Safa dedicates her time to performing across the country and advocating for the rights of people with disabilities, most notably for their inclusion in the creative arts.

“People with disabilities can excel at anything. We just need an opportunity, much like the one I had.” she said. “Today, when I see myself in the mirror, I see a successful performer and an influential activist.”