Daniel's Story

Daniel comes from the Roma Romanian community, which has experienced centuries of racism and discrimination, in his own country and elsewhere.  He is the oldest child from a large family (9 siblings) and his parents were illiterate in their own language and have never been to school.  Exclusion from formal education is common for the Roma community in Romania.

In Romania Daniel had to walk for miles just to be able to attend school and he was discriminated against by his teachers and bullied by other students because of his background. Despite these barriers Daniel developed a thirst for learning which he has been able to assuage since his arrival in the UK.

Always highly motivated, Daniel came to the UK in 2015 with a dream to be a Doctor (which he still holds) but he quickly realised that he had to learn English first.  He enrolled on English courses at Ipswich Community Media and in spite of working unsocial hours (coming home at 2 AM) he would still attend class at 10 AM.  He quickly completed his Entry 2 English qualifications, which, because he was starting from pre-entry is a huge achievement in the short term. 

Through his own learning journey Daniel has become a cheerleader for learning in his community, which can often be a stranger to formal education.   Through his own example he has motivated almost one hundred people from his own community to join English classes, including his parents, at the time this was more than 50% of the local Roma community.

He became a Community Champion for Roma Romanians and recruited Roma to English classes and helped them to translate and complete forms and assessments.  In addition, he supported them to attend a wide range of vital health and living rights workshops. In his Community Champion role he also translated and interpreted to help them understand the important messages that are crucial for keeping the community healthy and reducing the burden on the NHS.

Daniel organised Roma involvement in local cultural events such as May Day and Music Day, helping to celebrate the Roma culture and break down barriers and promote tolerance and understanding. He ensured that the Roma suffering during World War II was recognised by organising speeches during Holocaust Memorial Day commemorations.

Daniel developed and delivered a project aimed at engaging Roma parents in schools (as well as continuing to work all hours in the factory). He also became a teacher for over 100 Roma children in Sunday School at the Roma Church at Inspire Suffolk where he taught the Bible and the importance of good conduct as well as leading discussions on morality.

Through Daniel’s work ICM is able to have meaningful dialog with the Roma community and in recognition of the importance of his contribution Daniel became a Trustee for the charity.

Since he was born Daniel has been fighting against all odds to achieve his dream. The journey is hard for him and it will be long as well but huge credit goes to him for not giving up. In recognition of the progress he has made in the face of huge barriers Daniel was nominated for and won “Inspirational Learner of the Year” at the 2017 Suffolk Adult Learner Awards.

Daniel subsequently moved to London and studied to achieve a Health and Social Care degree. During this  time he continued to support ICM and help the charity retain good relations with the Roma community. He is now looking to move back to Ipswich to be near his family and study for his Masters in Chelmsford. He plans to continue as an ICM Trustee, working hard to promote the importance of learning and integration to the local Roma population, which has greatly expanded since Daniel first arrived in the UK. He also plans to achieve his ultimate goal of becoming a doctor.

A volunteer for over 10 years, he is an inspiring role model for the Roma community and for all our communities.

“Hi My name is Daniel, I come from a family with 10 children, I am a gypsy and I like to help people. Life sometimes is difficult so it may be hard to advance in professional or material plans, but if you believe in what you do you will succeed, it doesn't mean how hard it is, it matters how much you believe in you. Learn to be brave, trust in you and do not forget to help others. ” Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong ” 1Corinthians 16:13”