Alba is a Business Engineer who is organized, responsible, and resilient. She lives in La Paz, Honduras. Before joining the program, she carried a significant emotional burden from her previous job handling legal complaints. “Those cases marked my life,” she shares. “I felt a lot of anguish.” Despite her professional strength, Alba had learned to suppress her emotions and always put herself last.

She joined Eleva motivated by the desire to better manage her emotions and support others as well. From the very beginning, the workshops marked a turning point in her life. “It helped me process and let go of the thoughts I carried from the cases I handled,” she explains.

“Eleva helped me understand the importance of mental health in my life. I learned that what I feel should not be kept inside, and that by talking, we can release what hurts our soul, mind, and heart. Eleva is a healing process.”

— Alba, 25 years old, participant, YMCA Honduras

As she learned more about emotional disorders and anxiety symptoms, she reached an important realization: “If I’m not okay, I can’t help other people.”

The peer-learning environment became fundamental to her process. Hearing others share their stories helped her feel supported. “I truly admired their strength and their life stories,” she says. That atmosphere of trust encouraged her to stop taking everything personally and start listening to herself.

The impact of Eleva went beyond the workshops and into her personal life. One of the most meaningful moments was deciding to seek professional psychological support. “The program helped me accept that I needed help; I sought a psychologist to heal from the loss of my father,” she shares.

Today, Alba lives by a new mindset: “Me first, then me, and finally me.” She has stopped allowing others to make decisions for her and has begun prioritizing her emotional well-being.

When asked what Eleva means to her life, her answer is clear: “Eleva is a healing process.”