¨Loneliness is a big problem in Japan. After my husband died and my two children moved to Tokyo for jobs, I was very lonely, too. But I had moved many times, so I knew how to make friends! I helped my neighbors and co-workers make friends, too. I didn´t charge money. Soon, I had too many people to help.

Maya showed me how to make a fun friendship course online, like a game. Everyone loves it! 

So many people all over Japan take my course. I have private clients, too. I have a big wall with so many photos they send to me with their new friends. It makes me so happy! 

I never dreamed I could be a professional friendship coach. My children are so proud! I am very honored to help with this issue in our society.¨

¨My daughter died suddenly of cancer, and I gained custody of my two granddaughters, then ages 2 and 4. I was still grieving from the loss of my husband the year before, and had a stressful job as a social services director. I was completely overwhelmed.

Maya showed me that I could help other custodial grandparents. I had worked with many in my job, and now I truly understood their challenges. 

In our session, it became clear that I could start by creating support groups within the agency I worked for. I really enjoyed helping other grandparents, and decided I was ready to start my own organization. 

Within a few months, I quit my job to expand my services to grandparents outside of South Africa. I now work from home, where I can spend time with my sweet girls. It has been a joy to devote my time to helping other grandparents.¨ 

¨I turned to Maya after a young woman in Beirut died of her injuries while reporting on the street in front of my home. I was heartbroken. As a former war correspondent, I wanted to help these brave new reporters protect themselves from harm. 

Maya encouraged me to partner with one of my conflict-experienced colleagues to offer free safety training, supplies, and mentorship to street correspondents. The work they do in bearing witness and creating informative videos for social media and news sites is crucial for Lebanese citizens and the world. 

I am thankful for the chance to help these committed citizen reporters stay safe.¨

¨After I was diagnosed with multiple auto-immune diseases at the age of 44, I felt like my life was over. I had always been active and healthy. Suddenly, I was bedridden.

I moved in with my mother, who had a small farm.

I am so lucky that she became a skilled and passionate gardener in her later years! I paid close attention to the lessons she taught me. As I got stronger, I quite literally dug into understanding more about the power of herbs to heal our bodies.  

And then my mother died. I was devastated. Maya helped me to see the potential for using the farm to help others who were suffering. 

As a certified herbalist, I now teach parents of immune-compromised children how to use herbal remedies to improve their family´s health and happiness.

I have so much gratitude for the chance to live in this beautiful place, and to honor the ground my mother so lovingly tended.¨

¨Our city was destroyed. My son and I fled to Poland. As a psychologist, I recognized the severe trauma that all war refugees were experiencing, but I was terrified to try to help anyone. I felt too fragile. I feared I would be overwhelmed by their grief. 

Maya helped me to see that I could use my grief as my power. I had empathy and the skills to guide others through this unimaginable misery. 

I started a free clinic for displaced Ukrainian mothers here. Working with them has helped me to heal myself each day.

I have brought my remaining family members here, and I support them through the work I do with private clients. Although the horrors continue, we focus on caring for each other and finding small everyday joys.  

This is the most deeply fulfilling work I have ever done.¨

¨When the pandemic hit, I crashed. The pain of helplessly witnessing the deaths of so many of my neighbors in New York City broke me. 

Maya got me going again. I created an online course for other muralists. Helping artists brought me back to myself. Decision makers started to approach me. I was offered projects that I never would have attempted to apply for.

Then, my mother fell ill. I left New York and moved back to France to care for her. (I am French Algerian.) Returning to a predominantly African community touched me deeply.

Again, I reached out to Maya for help. Her process gave me clarity. Now, I work with young artists in immigrant communities to create murals that instill cultural pride.

As my mother was dying and our neighbors offered loving support, I realized that this is truly where I belong. I am honored to do my life´s work here.¨

¨My partner died in an accident. A few months later, the architecture firm I worked for was acquired and moved abroad. As a single mother, I needed to find work, but in my small city, options were limited.

Maya helped me to see what I truly wanted. I had designed a tiny home that was built on my property for my mother. Having her so close truly enriched our lives, and I wanted to help other families bring their older loved ones closer. 

I had my first client within two weeks of working with Maya. I started my own firm, and now have two employees.

Each day, I look forward to talking to the team and meeting with clients. I love the work we do together." 

¨After getting panic attacks during my last two performances, I had to stop doing what I loved most and had trained my whole life for. I was sick with grief.

"In a classic case of the shoemaker's children having no shoes, I was struggling with grief even though I am a therapist who has been helping patients through this process for nearly 30 years.

I turned to Maya because she had helped me with a separate challenge. I trusted her, and knew she would be insightful. 

She helped me to recognize that I felt guilty about the way my partner of 24 years had died. Despite having a year together knowing he was dying, and a very clear plan in place, that last day felt like a disaster and a personal failure. Everything went wrong in so many ways. 

After I told her more about our relationship, Maya pointed out that he'd had a great sense of humor. I suddenly realized he would have laughed at the absurdity of it all! This was an enormous relief, and allowed me to let go of my sense of responsibility for the comedy of errors that occurred. 

Despite my training and experience, I had not put this together myself. I am deeply grateful to Maya for her astute and loving guidance."