“I am Deaf, I am optimistic and I am a journalist”- it is three main words Kaarina Huovinen (35) uses to describe herself. She tries to find positive angle of everything, Kaarina sometimes feels invisible out of Deaf community, but still believes that not everything is lost and we as people can change things together.…
Rémy (19, it/its) takes us on a journey through moments of pain, transformation and empowerment. After leaving behind a restrictive home it found a community, identity and purpose. Rémy speaks about how activism became healing and its power to make a change in the world. By Alice Constantinescu, Isa Berkelmans and Nina Getsadze
Kerttu Tarjamo is an active person in many ways. She has a family, loves to exercise and also advocate for the rights of the LGBTQIA+ people as the Secretary General of the organization Seta. Through the multiple times she had to start over, she learned how to find happiness, even in the smallest things. “I…
“Before the war, my hobby was sewing clothes. It was my big dream to do it, but when we moved my inspiration was gone”, says Nataly, who’s originally from Mariupol, Ukraine, and has two children. “However, one year later I found my inspiration again, I even plan to open a website and maybe start a…
“Before the war, my hobby was sewing clothes. It was my big dream to do it, but when we moved my inspiration was gone”, says Nataly, who’s originally from Mariupol, Ukraine, and has two children. “However, one year later I found my inspiration again, I even plan to open a website and maybe start a…
Alex Bologa (28) is a champion, not only in Judo, but in real life as well. “I was selected from a group of children from the School for the Visually impaired.” With a positive mindset that keeps him present and focused, Alex is aiming high and working hard for the Paralympic competition that will take…
The indispensable link in Alexandru Bologa’s story is Tamas Gergely. The judocoach, born in Hungary but a citizen of Cluj-Napoca, is the first one to train a blind judoka. “I never really wanted to be a coach, until I saw the project”, describes Tommy – how everyone calls him – his passion. “The Romanian paralympic…
If you ask Ana to describe her character in three words, the first one that comes to mind is purposeful. An accurate characteristic for the young Ukrainian mother, who moved to Cluj only two years ago, but is working really hard on building a new life for herself and her family in Romania. “We’re starting…
Diane (36) came to Romania because of the love for her husband but it didn’t take long to fall in love with the country. The Burundian woman never had plans to have a mixed family or to live outside her native country. She found out that action always makes a difference and consistency is the…
Yevgeny is originally from Odessa, Ukraine. Two years ago, he came to Cluj-Napoca with his children. Ever since then, he gets help from World Vision, an organization that focuses on improving the lives of vulnerable people. Besides their help, he also feels very accepted by the people of Romania. ”From my point of view, the…
