My dream is not just for myself but for migrants

My name is Ramona Constantin.

My nationality is Romanian and I am Roma. I came to the UK in 2009 and since then my life has totally changed in a very positive way. I came here for a visit and stayed.

My life in Romania was different from how it is now. I was a simple woman with one child and many family members to look after, and all my time was spent working in the house.

But when I moved to the UK I saw that life can have other possibilities. I started to take ESOL class and learning English and that was the first step to a new mindset and new life.

Within two years, I was working as an interpreter and classroom assistant. I changed from someone who did not have any ambition to someone who now has very high aspirations.

Now I work as a Migrant Organiser for Migrants Organise in Manchester. I work with migrant communities, including the Roma community.

My dream is not just for myself and my family but for migrant communities to act together and find solutions to social problems that affect our lives. We can be strong together and build better lives for all of us in this society.

In 2011, Ramona received the inaugural Levenshulme Inspire award for her work with the Romani community in Manchester. If you would like to start organising with Ramona, please e-mail: ramona@migrantsorganise.org.

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