“Believe in yourself ! “ - 8 March celebrated with women in difficulty

Women's Day is a time when it is good to remind women of their force to turn life's blows into sources of inspiration for success. This is why on 8 March we decided to pay a visit to those women who need positive examples most, to convince them that they, too can overcome the difficult situations they are confronted with.

Our A.L.E.G. volunteers prepared a presentation entitled "Women Who Did It" of Romanian and foreign women who did extraordinary things through their own forces although faced with difficult personal situations; these are women who are worth to talk about and who have the ability to inspire and to motivate us such as the athlete Maria Cioncan, the writer Herta Muller or the American TV Star Oprah Winfrey. Along with our encouraging message - "Believe in yourself !" we also distributed sweet spring symbols - martisoare - and informational materials about gender equality and fighting violence against women.

Everywhere we went we met extraordinary girls and women. At the Cisnadie Foster Home we were welcomed by 10 girls aged between 14 and 18 who were especially impressed by the story of fashion designer Coco Chanel and by the young mountain climber Crina Popescu. The girls had prepared a dancing program as a token of appreciation for our visit; this showed us just how eager they are to share their joy and energy.

Another great experience was the visit to the Estera Centre in Medias, where president Elfriede Fronius welcomed us in a special atmosphere. 15 current and former beneficiaries of the shelter had gathered to celebrate Women's Day with us with cake, coffee and amazing personal stories which proved that we can find "women who did it" everywhere we look. Estera helped find their way sisters who could no longer stand their alcoholic father's violence, o woman who tried to commit suicide and a girls who came all the way from Iasi for whom "home" no longer meant safety. Among the shelter's newcomers there is also a 3 weeks old baby girl and her mother who had come directly at Estera as soon as she had left the maternity ward. Mrs. Fronius shared with us her own story, as well: what had made her set up the shelter, how she started and how she developed it step by step. she also gave us a tour of the house which gave us the best feel of the love that was put into everything.

The women with alcohol or drug addictions from the "Island of Hope" rehabilitation centre of Selimbar were also glad to see us. they appreciated our martisor and they were interested to know how we find funds and which are our activities. It meant a lot to us to see them smiling and hear them saying that the would like to see us again.

Our new volunteers played an important role in this roject and we would like to thank them: Andrada, Irina, şi Ana!