Portrait of the Youth from Youth Hub – Olha Shamrilo
Olha Shamrilo, from Odessa: “In Bucharest, I feel safe”
Resilience, compassion, curiosity, and their zest for life continue to teach us, day by day. Even when they make us angry, even when we scold them, and especially when they show us that the world does not go unnoticed by them. Just as they do not go unnoticed by us.
However, we have been selfish and kept them close, so close that we haven’t known how to show them to you as well, so we can learn from them together. Until now.
In their moment of eternal adolescence, we captured their portraits and invite you to discover a small piece of who the young people at the Hub are – with passions, dreams, and memories.
When the war in Ukraine began, Olha was only 13 years old. On February 24, 2022, she and her family arrived in Bucharest. Now, at 15, she remembers the peaceful days spent at the Black Sea in Odessa. Despite this, Olha has found a haven. With the help of Youth Hub, she overcame the depression she felt due to the Russian invasion.
The role that Youth Hub plays in the lives of Ukrainian and Romanian young people is something we learn about daily from them. Olha Shamrilo has been with us since the first day of Youth Hub. It has been incredible to see her grow, open up, and, most importantly, choose kindness every day.
Olha is from Odessa and enjoys spending time at the Hub, a place she discovered through her mother. She considers it an extraordinary space for young people her age: “Youth Hub helped me adapt more easily in Romania, especially since I felt depressed at first.”
We came after an intense period of activities, where we started to get to know the young people better. That’s when Olha told us, “These are friendship bracelets. They are for you. Now we are friends!” And the bracelet still marks this friendship.
She often helps with workshops, translating or facilitating cooking workshops, and participating in photography, language, visits, and excursions.
She has made friends here but misses those she had in Odessa and especially misses the summer days she spent at the beach with her mother.
Bucharest is a city that offers many opportunities
Olha has become accustomed to Romania’s capital: “It left a good impression on me. I feel safe here.” She adds that the city offers her many opportunities and that her experience with Romanian citizens has always been pleasant. She also has a Romanian friend with whom she can easily connect, even if they don’t communicate very often.
She participated enthusiastically in the first CityHunt events (urban treasure hunts in Bucharest, organized last summer and this year). These were perhaps the best ways to get to know, understand, and discover the city.
Most importantly, in outdoor events, both Olha and the other participants were challenged in a new way to step out of their comfort zones, while feeling the confidence from adults that they could manage.
Olha wishes she had the superpower to fly
Since the war began, what has helped Olha has been “all of Taylor Swift’s songs and Ukrainian songs. I want to go to a Taylor Swift concert!”
And because love is a central theme in Taylor’s music, Olha has been in love once, but it was just a childish love.
She blushes easily when she admits this. And we marvel at how the quiet little girl from a year and a half ago has become a curious, cheerful, responsible teenager, while still maintaining her innocence. At the end of the day, she likes to be inspired by fantasy books.
If she could change one thing, it would be to stop all the wars in the world and to be able to fly. Between pizza and a hamburger with fries, she always prefers pizza and is happy that autumn has come because “it’s neither too hot nor too cold.”
Autumn also means school starts, and she likes to learn. Her older brother helps her with her homework. Sometimes, he also gives her nice gifts: “I have a good brother!” exclaims Olha. She also asks for help from the youth workers at the Hub for schoolwork or personal problems.
She speaks freely and openly with the people at the Hub because they have all shown her one thing: she can trust them. And here, at the youth center, the feeling of belonging envelops her. Her, and all those who dare to visit.
When she grows up, she would like to become an IT analyst or project manager.
The sky, the sea, and visits to the Amusement Park with her father
Her favorite color is blue because it’s the color of the sky, the sea (last year, in 2022, she went to Constanța to see the sea), and her father’s eyes. A moment she cherishes is when she was a child and her father took her to an amusement park where they had a lot of fun.
Olha also remembers when she used to go with her family to her mother’s hometown, where her grandmother always waited for them: “It was before the war, and those were beautiful times!”
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