Silja (33) enjoys small things in life like reading, writing or painting in her free time. She works at Vailla Vakinaista Asuntoa Ry (VVA), an NGO with the purpose of reducing homelessness and improving services to support people experiencing homelessness. “For me, VVA is not only a workplace, but it’s a safe haven. It’s a place where…
For Heidi (41), inspiration mainly comes from helping others. When she gets to see someone else feeling successful through her support, it makes her feel happy and motivated. She describes herself as a reliable, trustworthy person who enjoys small beauties of our world like little puppies on the street and values “life as it is;…
15-year-old Arina moved to Cluj two years ago. After moving to her new city, she joined a local judo club, Bubble Gum, but then chose to prioritize her studies. She is from Odesa, Ukraine. Her family lives in Romania, but her brother remains in Ukraine. Arina has found a sense of belonging in her new…
Victoria, or Vika as she prefers to be called, is a 15-year-old girl from Ukraine. She came to Cluj together with her family two years ago, when the war broke out. “I was born and raised in the city of Dnipro. It was a big city, I loved it. Life in Dnipro was different. People…
Alina (21) is a student at the Babeș-Bolya University, in Cluj, Romania. She studies sociology. Alina works with children from Ukraine and not only teaches them the Romanian language, but helps them to socialize. For her as for a Moldovian living near the Ukrainian border, who is familiar with their culture and habits, it is…
For Olga Kopach from Ukraine, helping people coming from her homeland to Romania, is not a job, but a passion. It gives her a lot of fulfilment and satisfaction to lend a helping hand to her compatriots who flee the war. “Ukrainians who arrive here, don’t speak the language, so I want to help them.…
Mohamed Bellaaziz (37) has a heart for books and poetry, especially Arabic writers. When he is planting tomatoes in his garden and works with the soil with his hands, he feels at ease. He teaches social orientation and integration at Atlas, an organization where immigrants learn Dutch and find their place in Antwerp. “I feel…
Shadyaneh is helping newcomers with integration and inclusion as a counsellor at Atlas. The organization helped her with integration when she came from Iran to Antwerp 18 years ago. She left her home country and came to Belgium to experience freedom. “The first time when I rode a bike in Belgium and felt the wind…
