What is “home”? I open the dictionary and check, and it says: “Home is a structure built to meet people’s need for shelter. It is generally used by a family or individual for living and can consist of various rooms.” The definition is quite clear. I think we all know what a home is, but I am certain that when reading this, everyone has a different image in mind.
Some might call a peaceful abode, a chaotic apartment, a song, a person, or even a thought “home.” Homes can come in various forms and structures, but if you ask me, the most essential quality that makes a house a home is safety. That’s precisely why, a few months ago, when I saw an announcement for a project in Romania on the Pi Youth Association’s page, I applied without hesitation.
The project was a short-term youth team project that started on June 1st and ended on August 7th, and Romania was a place I’d always wanted to see. But the main reason I wanted to apply was the project’s theme. In short, the Giant Dolls House was a project aimed at helping Ukrainian refugee children and young people who were forced to leave their homes due to the war in their country feel at home again. After a collective training session with 60 volunteers in the city of Craiova, we were expected to be deployed to our regions and continue our volunteer activities there. So, I applied, got accepted after the evaluation process, and my journey began.The training camp we had in Craiova was like a rollercoaster. Never before had I experienced so many emotional ups and downs and learned so much in just one week. At first, I struggled to express myself in English and communicate with volunteers from other countries, but with each passing day, I noticed I was improving because, as I talked with my teammates, I realized they were just like me. They feared being misunderstood or failing to express themselves as much as I did. They laughed at the same things, missed home the same way, and were in a foreign country for the same purpose.
The memories I shared and the things I learned from them impacted me so deeply that by the time the training in Craiova was over, I felt proud of my progress in just one week and ready for the work we would do once we were deployed to our regions.
The city I was assigned to after the training, Arad, was a small, quiet, and green place. Here, we worked regularly with Ukrainian refugee children and young people a few days a week. To help you understand just how creative and profound the GDH concept was, let me tell you about our activities. In the project, we provided each child with a shoebox and the necessary materials (colored paper, scissors, glue, old magazines, colored pencils) and asked them to create a house or room where they felt comfortable, where they could feel at home. For instance, during the training in Craiova, I recreated my childhood room, where I always felt safe, as my Giant Dolls House. Using this example, we asked the children to create their own little dollhouses. I can confidently say that the children loved this activity regardless of gender. Now, just for a moment, imagine being a child who was forced to leave your home and is being displaced because of a war you know nothing about. Wouldn’t you want to have a home again, even if it was just a tiny box, a place where you felt safe and belonged? Wouldn’t the idea of having a “home,” even a miniature one, excite you and give you goosebumps?
If I set aside everything else, just seeing that the children were as excited as I was about the idea was enough of a reward for me. They created many Giant Dolls Houses, which I think you can find in the online exhibition on the Pi Youth Association’s page, and each one was deeply meaningful. Some tried to recreate their old rooms or homes, while others crafted an imaginary, never-before-seen space. One of the designs that touched me the most was from a child who wanted only a TV and a bed in their house. They asked me to make a remote for the TV and to draw their favorite cartoon on the screen. In that moment, I realized that for this child, home was simply a place where they could lie down and watch their favorite cartoon. Nothing more. They didn’t ask for luxury or anything else. Living in a world where even the simplest desires of children cannot be fulfilled saddened me deeply, but it also surprised me.
The activity attracted the attention of young people and children of all ages, as well as their parents, and the message we wanted to spread reached many people quickly. A five-year-old participant who came with her grandmother to the Giant Dolls House project continued to attend every session for three weeks, even though she finished her dollhouse early. What I also realized through this project was that people don’t need to speak the same language to communicate. Even though I didn’t speak Ukrainian and most of the participants didn’t speak English, we somehow understood each other and got emotional while looking at the completed houses. Having a Ukrainian participant with us sometimes gave us an advantage in terms of communication, but seeing the sparkle in the parents’ eyes as soon as they explained the activity to their children in their native language was priceless. Everyone loved the idea and wanted to be part of it. In my opinion, it’s very human for people of all ages to feel this kind of sympathy for dollhouses, or more precisely, for the idea of creating a home.
Romania was a wonderful teacher and home for me during the 37 days I was there. It showed me that there are other lives and beauties in different parts of the world at a time when I struggled to step out of my comfort zone. I realized once again that there were more stories I needed to listen to and more I needed to learn. Looking back, it was an opportunity I’m glad I took. It was an adventure that I think every young person should experience, because I believe it can have a positive impact
during a time when we struggle with finding ourselves and our purpose in life. Learning, having fun, and showing each other how fascinating different cultures are, with young people your age from other countries, shows you how many options life has to offer. It’s amazing to see how much progress you’ve made without being hard on yourself when you think in a more positive and calm environment. We are young, after all. Many of us are crushed under various pressures for reasons beyond our control when we deserve to laugh and have fun the most. Life can be exhausting at times, but freezing time for a short while and feeling hopeful about humanity again in Romania was priceless. It was a project period full of solidarity, trust, joy, and laughter that I will never forget. Every little thing I learned and every new friendship I made added a new color to my life. This experience transformed me both personally and socially, and it strengthened my determination to share what I experienced and spread this hopeful story to wider audiences.