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 feel the happiest in the morning, when I’m having my coffee and reading a newspaper. As well as when I spend time with my loved ones.” Seemingly, she lives a quite ordinary life. She has a 10 year old child and a wife. Kerttu loves to do everyday stuff: cook food, take excursions, meet friends and family.
However, her private life is not that much separated from her work. They are connected on many levels and she navigates between them with the same kind of passion and energy. “Without Seta and other LGBTQIA+ organizations I would not have been able to marry the person I love, or to be legally the mother of my child. Fighting for human rights has a strong effect on my own private life as well.”
Navigating life
Kerttu’s path to activism was not always straightforward. She had to experience a lot and face new challenges while she was growing up. In her childhood, she moved to New York City with her family, and later to Jyväskylä, Central Finland, to study and work. After a few years she moved again and settled down in the capital city. “Love brought me to Helsinki. I met a woman, we fell in love and I moved to live with her.”
“Love brought me to Helsinki”
But with big changes came new challenges. At every place she has lived, Kerttu wanted to find home and her calling. “I wanted to do something that has an impact, especially on young people. I’m excited when I see that they become more active. So I decided to work in the field of human rights and started to look for volunteering opportunities in LGBTQIA+ organizations. I wanted to meet people, get to know them and of course find a queer community.”
The driving force
At first, Kerttu worked in the local LGBTQIA+ organisation and after that she started to get involved in organizing the Helsinki Pride event. “For a couple of years, I was one of the people leading the organization at that time. And then I got more interested in the LGBTQIA+ advocacy in general.”
As a Secretary General with a lot of tasks, Kerttu became a driving force in Seta. She works a lot at the office where she has many staff meetings with her colleagues. “We plan future activities, advocacy activities or organizational events.” Furthermore, she also has some advocacy meetings with people from the parliament and makes contacts with people who work in the ministries in Finland as well.
Safe and seen
Even if there are a lot of things she needs to do, Seta provides her a safe place. “If you’re a queer person, it’s the one space where you’re not being questioned. It’s the one space where nobody is trying to put you down because of who you are. It’s a very big privilege to actually be able to work in an organization like this, because I feel empowered and supported. I’m very lucky.”
Writers: Levi Horemans, Luca Jáger
Editor: Selma Savolainen
