We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Micaela “Love” El Fattal. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Micaela “Love” below.
Hi Micaela “Love”, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
I have had a long, hard battle with c-PTSD, that stemmed from abuse as a toddler and that eventually led to me being badly extorted, as a child. By 12, I was pregnant by someone, who raped me and although I did end up miscarrying (probably due to severe stress), I realized that my situation had become very dangerous.
By 12 years old, I was living with a neighbor, while being taken advantage of sexually, financially, and mentally. It wasn’t until a 4th of July, when this person almost killed me that I had to flee, to escape for my life.
I moved 45 minutes away and was in hiding for months, scared if my rapist would stalk me, like the many times before. After moving suddenly, I was forced to cut contact with everyone I knew, so that he would not find me.
I started over, which was very challenging. I also leaned on family, that did not end up supporting me. I ended up going from a very horrible abusive situation to another situation, where I was not being fed. I remember waking during the night due to hunger pains and having every consuming daily thought revolve around being hungry.
I started positioning myself the classroom, so that I was right by the trash can, so if anyone was attempting to throw something away, I could either intercept it or sneak any leftovers out of the trash.
As an adult, I learned how to process my trauma. I also enrolled in my Master of Social Work at CSUSM and graduated in 2016, which was when I was diagnosed with c-PTSD. A few years after graduation, my house burned down in the Lilac Fire and although I had been working on myself thoroughly, I didn’t mentally prepare to lose everything.
In 2018, I started traveling to Cambodia to volunteer as an English teacher. Once I crossed the border, I had such a deeply spiritual connection, that led me directly to my purpose.
I noticed on that first trip just how easily people in America could donate and how lifechanging it could be. Where as, before, I felt very limited in what I could accomplish in California, I now felt like the world was working with me to get everything accomplished……Feeding kids in the floating village, showing up in the middle of horrible accidents, having the exact amount of resources for children, etc.
I started to accept what I already knew, Cambodia holds a very special place in my heart. Cambodia also helped me change my perspective so that even after my house was destroyed, I know that my family is safe and material items can be replaced.
I now use my experience advocating and protecting children, so they won’t even have to suffer through what I went through. I try to advocate for domestic violence clients and help students stay in school, especially when school was truly a safe haven to me. No matter how much healing I do, I will always reach a hand down to help someone else up, especially if they have experienced something as traumatic as what I survived through.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I am focused on nonprofits and my NGO will soon become a NonProfit, as well. I also set up international tours and volunteer tours, helping at my school. Lovely Hearts NGO. I am passionate about helping out many local organizations, as well. I also help at local retreats and with many nonprofits.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Positive coping skills, triggers, and transmitting energy were very impactful on my journey. This helped me feel more in control of my healing process and pin-point what I still needed to work on.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I am always looking to collaborate, whether partnering together on a project or supporting eachothers events. I am also looking for volunteers to teach at my school, Lovely Hearts NGO, in Siem Reap, Cambodia and if interested, they can email: LovelyHeartsNGO@gmail.com. I also help out the homeless very often so if anyone is interested in doing an outreach, I can help move things forward.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: CaliBeachLover
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100010072570251&mibextid=ZbWKwL
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/LovelyHeartsNGO
- Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCLuM9-5Ca6mFbneIB0LX8-Q
- Other: Instagram for Lovely Hearts NGO: Lovelyheartsngo
Image Credits
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