We are launching the 100 Roma Women for the Centenary Campaign on April 8th 2018, the International Roma Day and after 100 years since the Great Romanian Union. We believe that there are many women doing beautiful and interesting things in their communities, and through this campaign we aim to bring to your attention 100 Roma women with their stories and actions, especially at the local level, who are involved in various activities in the communities they come from. We are launching this campaign with 22 stories of Roma women from our Initiative Groups and our Roma women's network.
We invite you to send us your own story or stories of Roma women you know who are actively involved in community life, in actions for women, youth and young women, or who through their experience have been a role model for others.
Part I
see below
Zenaida
Zenaida is 57 years old and she is from Mizil. Since 2010, she has been involved in the activities of Women’s Initiative Group (Grupul de Inițiativă al Femeilor). She advocates for the introduction of the sewer system and for the paving of the streets in her neighborhood. In 2016, when the new mayor of the city came to Zenaida's community, she was the person who led the discussion, claiming the right for a decent infrastructure.
Adelina
Adelina is 24 years old and since 2015 she is a community facilitator in Mizil. Even though she did not manage to finish her studies, being forced to abandon the school in 6th grade, she is now involved in community problem solving activities. Adelina participates regularly in Local Council meetings and she mobilizes women in various activities for her community. She is one of the initiators of the 2016 protest in front of the Town Hall of Mizil when they asked for infrastructure and decent services for the Roma community. She takes part in feminist actions on the street, exchanges of experiences with groups of women from Romania or abroad. Since 2017 is a member of the Local Action Group set up by Mizil City Hall and has proposed a series of activities that encourage Roma girls not to drop out of school.
Mariana
She proudly presented herself as “Mariana of Udila from Cucova”. Her involvement started in School from Valea Seaca where there was a workshop about reproductive rights and contraception. Her intervention from this workshop sounds like this: “I am illiterate, but I will help you with everything I can just do so the girls from our community are no longer forced to get married early and give birth so young. ” Since that moment, Mariana became one of the most vocal local facilitators which fights against early forced marriages and for free access to contraception among poor women.
Elisa
I am Elisa and I am 17 years old. I am in High School and I wish to study at the Faculty of Theater. I wished that we, the young girls of our community, have a group because I liked that our mothers met in initiative groups, talk about interesting things, talk about their problems and find solutions. I saw it as an extra change that what life gives us, I saw a better and open world. I love to work in this group with my colleagues. Even that sometimes we don’t get along, we work perfectly together when we want to help others, when we want to show them the world with different eyes, things that I started to see since I am involved in the community.
Elena Feraru
Mrs Elena is a health mediator and social worker at School 136 in the Ferentari neighbourhood. Her wish is that no child should finish first grade without knowing how to read and write. She does this because she knows that their parents either don't have time or are illiterate and can't help them. She educates the children she works with not only as "ladies" as they call her, but also as a mother. Ms Elena does civic activism in her neighbourhood by sitting at the gate with her neighbours and talking to them about sex education and domestic violence. She not only goes to her neighbourhood but also participates in feminist street activities or visits other initiative groups.
Natalia
My name is Naty, I am from the Roma community in Giurgiu and I am 16 years old. From the age of 14, I started participating in various meetings organized by E-Romnja with women in the community. These meetings discuss various topics such as domestic violence, gender equality, the history of Roma women, the role of women in the family. I really enjoyed attending these meetings. Since December 2016, I joined the group of young Roma and non-Roma anti-violence in Giurgiu. I get involved in all these activities because I want other girls to have the opportunity to learn about how to avoid being a man's servant and how important school is. I also want there to be no more discrimination in schools or in public institutions.
Siguranța
I joined the group because I saw that there is justice for women, not only for men. I have nine children and I am left with only three of them, because at the divorce from my husband he took the older ones to him. In this group, I always felt supported. I have always been involved in the "March Against Violence" because women no longer have to suffer because of men and are treated like animals.
Elena Bengalici
I'm Bengali Elena, I'm 31 years old and I've been divorced for two years. I had a difficult life and now I am raising two children alone. I'm involved in the women's group because I want to help. I spoke openly and fearlessly about the verbal violence I experienced in my family. Sometimes the words hurt more than a slap in the face and I joined the women in the group to tell them not to be afraid to speak because we are with them. We did a lot of activities and meetings, with Roma and non-Roma women, where we learned that we also have equal rights with men. Many women do not want to talk because they are afraid because they get home and are beaten by men. I had the same fear, but it didn't hit me, I was hit by the words he said, which hurt even harder. The activities we did helped me a lot and now I know what I really want. We want justice! The woman is not just made for the pan and to take care of the children. We have the same rights and do not deserve to be treated by our men only as slaves or as sexual objects.
Anca-Niculina Bechi
Professor of Romani Language and Literature. I have always dreamed of being in front of the department, talking to children and contributing to their human development. Even if it seems unbelievable at times, dreams can come true. I was so interested in my personal development in the study of the rromani language that I studied and documented for days and hours. My evolution would soon be reflected in the knowledge of the students.
The awards, diplomas and trophies of excellence obtained over the years came from the Ministry of National Education, the Brașov County Council, the Roma Women's Gala, as well as the Roma organizations and schools where these competitions took place and brought joys, accomplishments, but also great satisfaction. In addition to teaching, school and extracurricular activities, I also worked in various programs that came in support of the education of Roma children, as well as community development. The joy and the professional fulfilment came with the recognition of the merits and the work performed, in my case, that of a teacher. "There is no country without a language, without a language there are no people." quote from Dumitru Matcovschi.
Alecu Florica
My name is Alecu Florica, I have a girl in the 11th grade at the Military High School. I am a Romani language teacher, I am 44 years old and I am currently in my second year at the master's degree in Roma Studies at SNSPA. I am a mentor for the Roma students from the Pedagogical High School with whom I meet twice a week and we discuss the problems they face on discrimination but also in the educational instructional process. I believe that young people should be promoted as positive role models in communities. It is important for young people to be encouraged to take on the Roma identity and to promote the Romani language.
Neacșu Lenuța
Lenuța Neacșu is a librarian in Bacău. She became a librarian through a long process of metamorphosing a passionate, faithful reader. Over time, she realized that the multitude of readings, of the books read, do not necessarily make you wiser, and that often everything you have learned and learned through hard years of reading and exercises is lost through an inappropriate gesture or an inappropriate word. A graduate of four faculties, she is currently a master's student at the sixth faculty (Faculty of Theology, Psychological Counseling), is a mother, librarian, active citizen and writer. Lenuța is intensely passionate about Christian counselling and music, but also about choreography. As a librarian, she provides support to children who are eager to read, especially Roma children. Not only is she active in the online environment, where with each written line she manages to deconstruct another myth, but she is also an active citizen by supporting initiatives aimed at supporting the Roma community. Lenuța is the mother of four children and the author of the book “Three days of kindness. Family Stories”.
Susana Rusnacu
Susana Rusnacu a fost consilier local ACDR în Sintea Mare (2012-2016) și printre activitățile desfășurate de aceasta se numără amendarea unor proiecte locale în vederea includerii nevoilor comunității în textul acestora. Pe lângă activitățile de zi cu zi ale unui consilier local, Susana a oferit în toți acești ani (și continuă să facă chiar dacă nu mai este consilier local) sprijin comunității prin informări dar și prin intermediul unor programe și donații ce vizau îmbunătățirea condițiilor de igienă și de locuit prin colaborare cu pastorul norvegian Hafsahl Jan Egil, dar a și facilitat accesul la programe de calificare și de continuare a studiilor. Unul dintre demersurile acesteia în calitate de consilier a constat în organizarea unei Cafenele publice, în care alături de ceilalți consilieri ACDR să dezbată, împreună cu cetățenii bugetul comunității și eventuale propuneri de îmbunătățire a proiectului de buget privind locuri de muncă, infrastructura, protecție socială și sănătatea.
Tabita Ene
My name is Tabita Ene. I am 20 years old and I am a student at SNSPA, Faculty of Public Administration. I chose this Faculty because here I can become a good civil servant from where I can solve the Roma issue, especially of women. I live in Bucharest and I lived in Chitila for a good part of my childhood. When I was a child, I and many other girls/women were subject to equal opportunities. This motivated me to take the initiative, to study and to be able to change something. So from the age of 15, I started to get involved in various activities and campaigns on topics such as inequality of opportunity, sex education in school, forum theatre, the importance of education, etc. These activities took place within the E-Romnja Association and APR "PE" helping me to develop both professionally and personally.
Raluca
Hi! My name is Raluca, I am 21 years old and I am from Brăila! I am currently a student at the Faculty of Economics in Galati. I wanted to become a student to prove to myself that the prejudices of the majority have no influence on me and the community I belong to. And I can proudly say that they belong to the Roma ethnic group. Over time, I have participated in various actions and projects organized by and for Roma that have focused on combating discrimination, the rights of young Roma, and many others, which I wanted to participate in to know the life stories of others young Roma but also to socialize. In the future, I want to help the Roma community I belong to more!
Adriana Ioniță
Adriana is a facilitator at the Story Club set up in Romanești Kindergarten, as part of a project aimed at early education among Roma children of about 4 years old. She meets every week with groups of 40 local mothers to teach them how to read and interpret children's stories at home. The Story Club is the only opportunity for Roma women to get together, to talk about their daily routine and to learn from each other how to spend quality time with their children.
I am 31 years old, I have finished 8 classes and I live in the community from Romanești. I am a single mother and I have a 7-year-old daughter. I was very excited when I was chosen to be part of an educational project. Thanks to the meetings at the "Story Club", I can say that I lived new experiences with the mothers in my community. At the beginning of this project, I was shy, but over time, I changed my personality. I can say that I am a woman with many dreams and I am struggling to fulfil some of them, such as continuing my studies.
Following this project, I discovered a quality, namely: to fight to be fulfilled.
Amalia Florea
Amalia is a graduate of the Faculty of Sociology and Social Work, Psychosociology, University of Bucharest. Prior to joining the REF Romania team, Amalia worked as a project assistant at Sastipen and has been involved in activities for non-governmental Roma organizations in Bucharest since 2005. She has also worked at the Roma Education Fund Romania Foundation since January 2015, in roles such as mentor coordinator and data monitoring assistant. Currently, Amalia is the National Coordinator of the Roma Education Fund Scholarship Program (RMUSP and RHSP).
Georgeta Brîndușescu
My name is Brindusescu Georgeta and I would like to be able to tell you something about me. I am 35 years old, I have finished 9 classes, I am legitimately married and I have 3 children, 2 girls aged 14 and 11 as well as a 9-year-old boy. I'm a very curious person, probably because of the madness behind my smile. I love the feeling of fear, every time something happens, I want to know more. This is how my journey began in discovering a wonderful team that stopped in our community through an educational project for children and mothers. Thanks to the "Story Club" I belong to, I remember the moments when I was a child and my parents read me stories that I adored. As a preschool mediator, I gained my confidence, because otherwise, I am a housewife; mother and wife. I became a woman with other perspectives, with high goals, not just "a woman in the pan", as the saying goes. I want to continue my studies. I hope that this stigma that Roma women have imprinted on their minds will no longer be felt. I want Roma women to evolve as independent women!
Crina Monica Mondoc
My name is Crina Monica Mondoc, 23 years old and I am a social worker. I have been involved in many projects aimed at improving the education of children with precarious situations. I believe that in Romania the profession of social worker is extremely important and has an impact on the lives of those we work with, being possible to change for the better the lives of people who have different life situations. I like to help the community I come from, but especially to contribute to the education of children.
Claudia
Claudia is a school mediator at St. Nicholas School in Mizil. She started working for her community in 2010 as a facilitator for the Mizil Women's Initiative Group. Her perseverance led local authorities to introduce two water pumps in the Mizil neighbourhood. In 2015, she was awarded at the Rome Women's Gala for her involvement in community development. She collected signatures from people in the community to raise stray dogs to facilitate children's access to school and went monthly to Local Council meetings to address the issue. She is currently involved in actions involving Roma women's rights and children's education.
Steluța
Steluța is a Romani language teacher from Giurgiu. Since 2015, she has been actively involved in local E-Romnja actions to combat violence against Roma girls and women. It facilitates working groups on issues related to the rights of Roma women and is a support in the relationship with the local administration. In her school, she promotes the right to education of Roma children and fights for the eradication of early marriages. Steluța is one of the key people in the pilot partnership developed in Giurgiu to reduce abandonment and early marriage among Roma girls/boys.
Alice
Alice is in her 11th grade. She is a member of the Revindicări din Sat (Valea Seacă) group. Alis has been actively involved in the #wewantrespectforthepresent online campaign. He had one of the strongest messages about controlling the bodies that parents, especially fathers, exercise over girls. Her message read: "We want parents to stop marrying their young daughters and let them finish school in order to have a better future than the one they think they will have through marriage."
Nicoleta Vișan
My name is Nicoleta and on September 15, 2014, I was evicted along with my siblings, sister, grandchildren, parents, husband and son who was 1 year and 10 months old, but also the other neighbours. A total of about 150 people from nationalized homes. There have been many injustices from the state, town halls and other institutions against us, but the fight we have fought has been very difficult and is still going on. We ended up sitting in the street, sleeping on the floor, being chased, being abrupt, some of us even beaten. Together with those in the community, we fought by organizing protests, the hunger strike. I submitted all kinds of petitions, letters, I went to various meetings where they discussed and looked for solutions to solve the housing problem. In 2 years we managed to get 9 apartments for the people in the community but we are still struggling to solve the situation for those families who have been put on the waiting list by the town halls. With the evacuation, I met a lot of good-natured people, through whom I discovered myself and my activism as a Roma woman. I am proud to be a woman, I am proud to be Roma and today I am glad to be in this category.
Mălina
Mălina is 29 years old and comes from Mizil. She was a member of the women's initiative group in the community for two years but was forced to move to Germany with her family due to a lack of jobs. Through her advocacy spirit and her desire for Roma women to be involved in local decisions, Mălina was a leader of the group learning with women how to organize, to participate in Local Council meetings to fight for community issues. The experience of working with the group in Mizil has left its mark on her. She left for Dortmund motivated to propose to the local authorities to work with the Roma.
Although she has only five classes, Mălina currently volunteers in a Roma organization and facilitates communication between Roma and authorities.
Marina
Marina is a 24-year-old Roma girl from the people of Boldeni. She is married and has a baby girl. Marina has been involved in a forum play on reproductive health and rights. In the play, she spoke about her personal experiences, bringing to the public's attention the family problems that young Roma women in Boldeanu face, as well as the problems in the community and the relationship with the authorities.
Pamela
My name is Pamela and I am 36 years old, I joined this group because there are several women in the community. I liked the activities I did on the violence and I want to do other similar activities so that we can be done justice, whether we are women or men.
Anca Mezei
I am an educator and teacher of the Romanian language at the Gymnasium School No. 5 in Săcele, Brașov County. In 2006, I joined the "Tarlungeni Secondary School" where Roma children attended. The following year, I became involved as an educator at the same school. The children did not come to kindergarten, so in a way, I had to take an attitude in this direction. Every morning for two weeks, I would walk around the community on a train, from the beginning of the street to the end of it, shouting for the children to come to kindergarten. In 2007, I got a part-time job at a Foundation in Săcele (FAST). That year I moved to another school, Zizin Gymnasium School. Here, too, the children did not go to kindergarten, either because it was too far away or because they did not feel welcome there. So, supported by the Foundation, I made a kindergarten in the attic of the Pentecostal Church, where the children came with pleasure. In the community of Tărlungeni, we built a small centre for children and mothers there. So, I started a program called "Abigail's Kitchen" - where I met mothers every week and cooked different dishes. I continued my activity at the Foundation, where with the whole team, I built houses for the poorest people in Tărlungeni. By 2012, we had built 23 houses. Over time, I have given speeches to mothers in the community to encourage and thank them for their efforts.
Luminița Nistor
I am Luminița Nistor and I am part of the women's initiative group from Valea Seacă. At our meetings I feel good because they tell me problems, I unload, I learn new things and things that are good for me. I can say that things have changed a little for us women since we joined this group.
Cristina Dumitrache
I'm Cristina Dumitrache, a community health mediator in Giurgiu, Giurgiu County. As an area of activity, I deal with the community of rudari Roma. I like that I can help helpless people, that I can accompany them to the family doctor. Through my work, I monitor pregnant women, newborns, the elderly and children. We launched a campaign to fight cervical cancer for 50 women and facilitated access to the Pap smear test. I also facilitated their consultation with a gynaecologist for breast ultrasound. I would like all Roma women to go for a gynaecological check-up once a year.
Călin Lăcrămioara Mariana
My name is Lăcrămioara Mariana, I work as a health mediator and mediator at FILIA Center. After 3 years of fighting for women's rights, since I started working with my colleagues from FILIA and E-Romnja, I believe I’ve now started to enjoy the fruits of my own labour. We started with an initiative group for women and, with time, we formed three groups for each village. Together with these three groups we organized many activities on topics such as prevention of abuse against women and girls, prevention of child marriage and women's health and their rights. We managed to change the mentalities of women living in violent environments but too afraid to speak up, to fight for themselves, women that now know how to stand up for their rights. Furthermore, on the local level, we gathered a group of highschool students which I'm very proud of because they are very active and do so much for the community, students that learned that their community needs people like them.
Rafaela Memis
My name is Rafaela, I come from a community of Roma people in Obor, Giurgiu and I’m 15 years old. Since I was 14, I’ve started participating in all types of activities organized by the E-Romnja Association together with the initiative group consisting of the women from our community. At the gatherings we used to discuss topics such as domestic abuse, history of Roma women, gender equality, education, etc. Since the beginning of 2018 I’ve been part of the “Roma and non-Roma teenagers against violence” group in Giurgiu coordinated by the E-Romnja Association, which has the purpose of fighting against violence against Roma and non-Roma women and even against violence in schools. We organized many activities such as: debates with local authorities, flash mobs about violence, information campaigns, summer camps,etc. I participate in all of these because I wish that other girls/women should have the opportunity to learn how to avoid being a slave.
Dana
Dana is 24 years old and comes from Bistrița-Nasăud. She now studies for a master degree at Babeș-Bolyai University, at the Social, Administrative and Communication Sciences Faculty, majoring in Public Administration. She wishes that after graduating she could work in the local public administration, more precisely either at the Social Assistance and Social Service bureau or at the Civil Status bureau. She wants to help her co-ethnics from such a position.Moreover, she is the coordinator of the Youth Organization of the Roma Pro-Europe Party Association Bistrița. Since when she became a volunteer for the association she tried to help and convince Roma teenagers to continue their studies, such that last year (2017) at the “SOS Roma kids” educational campaign she talked to them about the opportunities of going to College free of fees, to benefit from scholarships offered by REF Romania, a scholarship that she gets at the moment, and she even helped some of the children with school projects; each time she helped everyone that needed her.
Mărgean Denise
My name is Mărgean Denise and I am 26 years old. I finished medical school, majoring in General Medicine in Iași. I engaged in information campaigns, event organising such as april 8th, the prom for Roma teenagers, the excellency gala for young Roma people from Brăila, the city where I come from. All these events were organized with the help of the Roma Party which I became a volunteer for. Together we tried to raise the self-esteem of the Roma people from the community , to inform them about the existence of diseases and vaccines, to help people apply for a Family Doctor, to obtain IDs etc. Moreover, we offered medical examinations that consisted in measuring the blood pressure, the blood sugar level and we offered guidance in order for the people to find the right practitioners.
Alexandra Gheorghe
My Name is Gheorghe Alexandra-Daniela, I am 19 years old and I am a 1st year student at the Sociology and Social Assistance Faculty. I come from a Roma community, community where I started my activity as a volunteer for the educational department. I helped some of the children raise their grades by spending a few hours with them daily. I participated in many projects which had the Roma cultural identity, history, culture and traditions as main topics. Thanks to these opportunities I managed to develop a new vision regarding my ethnicity. I am now proud of it and I try to make others be as well. I enjoy seeing that my opinions have an impact on people, that brings me joy. This is exactly why I chose this domain. I want to work as an activist and to deal with the Roma issue. I want to carry on everything I’ve learned and will learn from now on.
Andreea Chiriac
I am Andreea Chiriac, I am 24 years old, and I come from Buzău. I graduated from the Faculty of Foreign Languages at the University of Bucharest. I am currently a student at the Master of Gender and Minority Politics within SNSPA.
Since the first year of college, I have been involved as a volunteer in activities destined to the Roma community because I felt the need to give back at least a part of the help that was given to me as a young Roma woman in my academic beginnings. E - Romnja is one of the associations that helped me with my personal development by making me aware of concepts such as feminism and gender inequality.
Camelia Liu
My name is Catalina Liu, I am 34 years old, I live in a region close to Călărași and I am a mother of two children. I am currently working as a health mediator hired by the mayor s office. I come from a family which didn’t have many financial resources but nevertheless, I managed to become what I am today. At the age of 19, I was one of the first generations to have access to health mediator courses. After that, I volunteered for 10 months. During this time, I was in direct contact with those in the community who were facing problems in the medical field and I helped them.
Now after 15 years of work in this field I can say that what I have been trying to do is bearing fruits. I have managed to make many women understand the importance of vaccinating their children or how they should be cared for. The women from the community are my number one priority at work. I try as much as I can to help them by giving them guidance, advice or saving them a trip to the hospital. The road can be expensive or tiring for pregnant women so from time to time I pass by their homes.
I love what I do and it gives me a lot of fulfilment and satisfaction.
Daciana Dincă
My name is Daciana Dincă, I am 36 years old, I am married and I have 3 beautiful children, 2 boys and a girl. I am thankful to God every day for this gift, my family.
I work as a health mediator in a village called Toflea which is a part of Galați. My husband also works as a school mediator and together we form a team. We love what we do and we are always happy to help when our intervention as mediators is needed.
In order to be a blessed woman, you need to put your soul in everything you do, to be open to learning but also to let yourself be guided by God. The greatest privilege is when God shows you the way to help others. In addition to the above, I am part of a group of sisters from the "Rugul Aprins Toflea Church" which prepares 400 portions of food every week for the elderly, the poor and the sick people in our community.
I strongly believe that what God offers us is a blessing to those in our village.
Elena Radu
My name is Elena Radu, I am 39 years old and I am the mother of a 17-year-old girl and an 8-month-old angel. I am an educational expert, community facilitator teacher of Romanian language and literature and Roma history and language. I am also a school mediator and counselor and a counceler for the Ministry of National Education.
Since the 8th grade, I have experienced emotional and self-esteem issues due to discrimination and xenophobia. As a form of protection for us girls, my father moved us to Vrancea, where all of my mother's relatives lived.
I had difficult adolescence because the duty of raising my 3 brothers fell on my shoulders. In order to succeed I was only sleeping between 2 and 4 hours because I was working at a bread factory in the night time and after high school, I was a saleswoman. None of this stopped me from graduating high school and reaching the top 3 that year. I went to Med School in Focșani with a scholarship, but after 2 years I was forced to give up because my family did not have the money to pay my internship expenses.
At the age of 19, I ran away from home to some relatives in Bucharest because of the wedding my parents tried to force me in.
After that, I wanted to become a teacher and so I decided to make my dream come true. It was a very difficult period in my life but I became financially and emotionally independent.
After 3 years my parents understood my decision when they saw that I had a job and also that I was in college. At the age of 21 I got married so I could finish my studies but also keep my father's honour as a pativalo.
From the age of 22 until the age of 34 I continued my studies in various forms of education, but the ones that brought me the greatest satisfaction were the doctorate and the experience living in Roma camps in Italy, France, Spain, England, Germany and Poland. I really enjoyed being a volunteer teacher for Roma people everywhere in the world. The fact that I was welcomed and listened to gave me the strength to help Roma communities all over the country. This is how I become a community facilitator in a Council of Europe project and managed to do things that authorities deliberately omitted.
I have been in the service of my peers for over 17 years and I am proud to tell my children about my professional experience. In my personal life, I have managed to be a good mother that lets her children discover their path in life.
I am a strong, independent, and ambitious mother who still has a dream. After I will have accomplished that I will be able to say: I am fulfilled!
Simona
Simona is an enthusiastic and active young Roma girl who always sees the good in people. She has been involved in the volunteer activities of E-Romnja and of the Mizil initiative group since 2015. She is always involved in the street actions that support the right to decent infrastructure and that fight against prejudice against the Roma girls and women in her community.
Dumitru Gabriela
My name is Gabriela, I’m 39 and I live in the Uranus area. I’ve witnessed 4 evacuations and even though I haven’t been evacuated myself, I have been with those who have gone through this suffering. I attended many protests against these kinds of events and my friends and I got involved in three plays. One of the plays we have been a part of was about evacuation in order to spread awareness about this situation. We just wanted to be heard by someone.
Lizuca
I am Lizuca, I am 17 and I am from Valea Seacă. The community I am a part of is not so well maintained so I am part of the Revendicari din Sat(t/n Village Claims) group and I fight for a better future for myself, for the youth and children of my community and for the community itself since it has always been seen as a poor and neglectful one. I wish there was no discrimination between Roma and Romanian people, between boys and girls, but my biggest desire is to stop seeing or hearing about child marriage and school dropout. Being part of this wonderful group changed my life for good, I have a new way of thinking, I fight for the wellbeing of the ones around me, not only for myself. I have been more open to new things, I have communicated more and I have started to speak up even though I am not very good at this. The coordinators were really helpful and gave us the opportunity to help the poor kids from my village with school supplies. We marched on various issues such as against discrimination of any kind, against gender violence and mostly for equality. Being a part of all of these is really important to me. Without those activities I would not be where I am today and I will not be able to become the best version of myself tomorrow. Once with my change and fight for my rights, my community will change as well. I see this first and foremost in my parents who started to support me even though at first they didn't agree and they wouldn't let me be a part of this group.
Daniela Vlăsceanu
Dana fights for human rights. In 2016 she founded a community centre in Ferentari to create opportunities for kids, homeless people and drug addicts. She realised she had to become a feminist because of the inequalities between women and now she fights against gender violence. Along with that, she speaks about her own experience as a Roma lesbian woman that fights against the prejudices faced by LGBT people.
Cornelia
My name is Cornelia, I am 32 and I was evacuated 5 years ago from the Uranus area. I had fought against the city hall and the owner of the house. After 6 months of being homeless and living in a shack built by my parents, I finally received my own rented home from the city hall. This experience made me join various street actions against the evacuation of other people from my community. I have started to help, guide and encourage other people to fight for their rights. I have been part of three plays in order to tell my story. In 2017 I was involved in a play written about evacuation which explained how it happens and the steps that should be taken.
Denisa Bujor
My name is Denisa, I am 15 years old, I am of rome ethnicity and I come from a family with seven children. I am part of the Village Claims Group and I get involved in the activities of the group because I want to do what is right and just. I want to have a better future. This group completely changed me. I didn't see what was going on around me in the past, but now I sit and talk to those around me. I'm tired of hearing from all the people that this community is too poor, helpless. I want to be able to change these things, and that's why I want to do my best to make people respect each other. I want to see that all people have the same chances in life.
Dinu Lucia
I'm Lucica or Cipi as everyone calls me. I am 39 years old, I have four children and I am from Valea Seaca. I got involved in this group because I want to fight for our rights, not to be inferior to our men. We want equality in the family, we want other men in the community to stop abusing their wives. We want to change something in the community. I really like it when we cook in the community and we all eat.
Ionela Ciobanu
I am Ionela Ciobanu from Valea Seacă and I have 4 children. Until the age of 30, neither I nor my children had IDs. I got involved in this initiative group of women from Valea Seacă to change the lives of women and to stop violence against them.
Mihaela Felican
My name is Mihaela Fleican, I am 25 years old, I have two children and I've always wanted to change something in our community from the 23 August district. In 2017, we made a petition asking the mayor's office of sector 3 in Bucharest to clean the area and pick up our garbage. After a month, the town hall brought two containers in which people throw garbage. I am currently part of the Initiative Group in the Indian community and I am involved in advocacy activities. My goal is to persuade the authorities not to demolish our homes.
Stoica Maria
Maria is from Cluj and has been evacuated since she was 7 years old. She is married to a boy who had also been evacuated with his parents.She has a 6-year-old boy whom she tries to educate so that in the future he will not feel marginalized by people. She worked in the trade for almost five years and says she realized that no matter how good you are, you will never be good enough like the rest, because you are a gypsy. Maria is an activist in the Social Housing movement NOW! from Cluj, contributes to the editing of the Cărămida newspaper, and is one of the voices in the material Racism in our home, as well as co-author and presenter of the Manifesto from Cluj against evictions everywhere.
Samuela Rostaș
Samuela is a young rome woman from Alba County, who chose to ignore stereotypes and not let prejudices influence her choices. Although she is at the beginning of her career, it is noteworthy that she demonstrates a very good professional training, responsibility and dedication for the activity she carries out. Samuela manages to successfully combine professional activity with academic / research, being simultaneously a civil activist, university assistant and Phd student at the National School of Political and Administrative Sciences in Bucharest, which shows professionalism, seriousness and commitment regarding her choices , especially in terms of career. She is also involved locally in educational campaigns, which aim to counsel students and disseminate information on places allocated to rome students in highschools and universities. At the same time, she is involved in activities aimed at preserving, expressing and developing the rome identity, reducing discrimination and negative stereotypes. A good exampple chould be a recent activity called "I'm Young Rome Activ Campaign", which brought together about 100 of young rome people from all over the country, to hold an interactive event, to promote a series of suggestive messages and to carry a series of public events in the center of the Capital.
Băcan Ștefania Corina
My name is Băcan Ştefania Corina, I am 20 years old and I can say that I am a happy man. I was born into a loving family, where I learned what compassion, respect, and care are. My parents put a lot of emphasis both on my and my siblings’ education, especially because of my mother, who was able to finish only a few elementary classes. I finished high school when I entered the Roma places, among the first six, I proved by the results obtained that nothing is too difficult to achieve if you work and nothing can stop you from being the best, not even the ethnicity! I am currently a student at Danubius University in Galaţi at the Faculty of Law-Bachelor's degree in the first year and I work as a local policewoman in the village where I grew up. Through my daily work, I try to be a role model for my community and motivate young Roma to follow their dreams, break down the walls of ignorance, break down barriers of discrimination, change perceptions, dispel prejudices.
Băcan Nicoleta Cătălina
My name is Băcan Nicoleta Cătălina, I am 23 years old and I am a first-year student at the Master in European Union Law. I intend to be a voice for those who have words and can't speak ... or who speak but receive no answer. I am a primary school teacher at Lanurile Gymnasium School in Brăila County and I am involved in various activities to combat discrimination against Roma as well as Christian counseling / summer camps for our children. I fight to represent the Roma ethnic group with pride and respect!
Irina Dănilă
Irina is a 22-year-old woman from Focșani. She is a wonderful mother, sister, daughter and friend. Everyone who meets her is thrilled with her optimistic outlook on life; she always has a smile on her face and a song in her heart. Her strength is seen in everything she does. Although she has gone through many difficulties, she is still struggling for a better future for herself and her loved ones, especially her children. When she was a teenager, she learned how to read and write on her own, and for several years she has been traveling between Romania and Sweden to work and support her family. The situation is still difficult, in Sweden she had to sleep on the street and learn a completely different language, but she is still moving forward. He cleaned houses, worked in shops, in a cafe and at a textile factory. She hopes that one day she will be able to work as a waitress. At the moment, she wants to provide her children with opportunities that she did not have when she was a child, such as going to school.
Alina Șerban
Alina Șerban is the initiator of the feminist Roma political theatre and the first Roma woman theatre director in Romania. Through the projects she has developed since 2009, Alina pioneered a new type of theatre, bringing on stage stories told from a Roma perspective by Roma actors to generate a cultural r(evolution).
Alina comes from a traditional Roma family. She refused early marriage and understood from an early age the importance of continuing her education, as a result of her mother's efforts to enable her to continue her studies.
Alina became known both in Romania and abroad through the one woman autobiographical show ‘I declare on my own responsibility’, based on her own experience as a young Roma woman in a traditional community. The show tells the story of its own becoming - the process of assuming the Roma identity, but also the social and personal obstacles she overcame to become an acting student at the most prestigious theatre universities in the world: Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London and Tisch School of The Arts, New York.
Currently, Alina plays the lead role in ‘The Great Shame’, a show written and directed by her. This is a double national premiere, being both the first play about the history of Roma slavery and the first theatre project directed by a Roma woman from Romania.
In addition to theatre projects, Alina can also be seen on the big screen. Her first feature film, ‘Seule a Mon Mariage (Alone at My Wedding)’, premiered at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival and won Alina numerous international awards for acting.
Andreea Dobre
Ambition, courage and perseverance were the basis of my training//my growth. I am Andreea, I come from a family of Roma, foreigners of the Romani language, of Roma traditions and customs, with a modest situation, but with an unbounded and unconditional love for the family, which supported me from the first years of my life. Now I realize how important it is to get parents involved starting from kindergarten. The involvement of parents in the child's education is the main pawn that underlies the formation and development of the child's personality. I finished the Gymnasium School "Gheorghe Manu" Budesti, from Călărași County. Having outstanding results, I attended the theoretical high school "Neagoe Basarab" Oltenița, human profile-philology. In 2014, through Budești City Hall, I attended classes for school mediators and met the team from the ECHR association in which I was hired as a preschool mediator and facilitator in Your Story within the project "READY SET GO!", Dedicated to Roma children disadvantaged. After this, I participated in training courses for preschool mediators, Your Story facilitators, various courses for educators, courses for the "Step by step" program, all organized by the ECHR association. As in any profession, at the beginning of the road, I encountered difficulties, but I had the support of special people from the ECHR team, who raised me when I thought I was going to lose myself and supported me a lot morally in my educational endeavour. For 2 years I have been continuing the same work at the kindergarten in Galbinași, Călărași County, where I feel very good because I am surrounded by 25 smiles. Ambition, courage and perseverance were the basis of my training.
Florina Danciug
My name is Danciug Florina -Georgiana, I graduated from the Faculty of Political Science at the University of Bucharest, and now I am a 4th-year student at the Faculty of Law at Nicolae Titulescu University. I am from Vaslui County, and the Roma issue in that community is one with major difficulty, I worked in my community because I wanted to help them integrate more easily into society, respectively through various projects which to show them as school is the only way to stop the stereotypes and prejudices we receive. As for me as a person, I can say that I am very optimistic, eager for novelty and perseverance.
Georgeta Stanciu
I am I, a simple woman from the countryside, of Roma ethnicity, a mother rich in the joys and wonderful moments received from my 2 daughters and an angel, and I am still the daughter of some parents who worked with dignity and respect for what they did. I have a degree in Administrative Sciences and a master's degree in Management and Strategy for a European administration. I learned from the desire to know and apply what I know to change for the better the lives of those around me, implicitly my life that I want to live in respect and respect, with dedication and much love for those who have to need it.
What I tell you not to take for granted.
All I did was things that happened and left in my luggage with facts.
I worked with many children and I tried to leave something from me to each of them, to those who knew how to take over the model from a man/woman, at that time a teacher.
Then I thought of working for people and the community, especially Roma women, as a health mediator for a period of 3 years. I met women who needed real help, or information from the local administration, or a minimum of health education, social education, behavioural education. I was the connection between the family doctor - the community - the local authority. I believe that I have contributed, at the very least, to the training of responsible people in asking questions and asking for answers. I have been working in public administration at the government level for 13 years, as an expert of the National Agency for Roma in the South Muntenia Regional Structure, years in which I learned how to work institutionally, how to get involved in community life at a local level, I gathered ideas and I applied maybe a quarter of what I learned, where the needs exceeded the level of interventions of the authorities and institutions.
Going step by step, I noticed that most of the time, in order to have results in the work and benefit of the people, to improve the life of the citizens, it is not enough to be good and to want your things to come out the way you want. This is how I came to the conclusion that in a democratic country, you have to do politics as well. I ran in the local elections in 2012 for the position of Mayor on the lists of the Roma Party Pro Europa, without having the chance to become a local councilor. I didn't give up. I am an ALDE local councilor and I try to bring information and professionalism closer to the citizens, to show the interests and rights of Roma and non-Roma citizens, to perform in gaining people's trust. I will continue what I started and I wish that many of the women with will and courage to join me, children and young people can be a model, the model of the vertical leader, sincere and honest, the pattern of the simple woman but with a lot of common sense in to do things pleasing to men and to God. We get along well. A simple woman, that's all!