Tuomo Leppänen, a 50 year old dad, and green technology IT professional, has many hobbies, such as: Japanese swordsmanship, making music, photography, and even collecting and restoring vintage radios. He also happens to have a rare illness. Tuomo grew up in the small city of Lahti in Finland about 100 kilometers north from the capital…
Meet Angelica (41). She is all about laughter, progress and education. Her passion for culture and passing down pride and heritage onto the youth is outstanding. Despite struggles and obstacles in her life, she has remained a positive and happy person. She and her colleagues have created a warm and welcoming environment in their office,…
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…
“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.…
The parents and grandfather of Dimitri Lindgren (28) have always emphasized the importance of education. All of his enthusiasm for his work, studies and activism stems from them. “I believe that through education, one can integrate into society. That mindset has been my bridge to everything I do today.” “When I was younger, I remember…
24-year-old Kateryna Murenko always planned on becoming a lawyer, but now she teaches children the English language in the Ukrainian center. Through her job she found a new sense of purpose and a joy for the smaller things in life. “Teaching wasn’t something I had planned for myself, I really wanted to be a lawyer.…
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…
When it comes to friendships, Natalia (32) is very passionate and persistent: the last time she saw her friends was before the pandemic. She finds happiness in dancing, nature and being with her family. She enjoys her internship at the Ukrainian Association in Finland, where she can talk and be with other Ukrainians. “I moved…
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;…
