The beginning of life should not decide its end
In this blog, Alexandru Napoleon-Valentin, the President of Eurochild's Romanian member, A.S.A.T. (Solidarity and Action for Youth Association), shares how his personal journey inspired him to transform his own experience into a public mission, ensuring that vulnerable children growing up in difficult circumstances are not condemned to marginalisation.From vulnerability to civic leadership.
I do not share my story in order to focus on hardship. I do not share it to seek sympathy, nor to turn my past into a reason for personal admiration. I share it because it explains, more clearly than any CV or list of professional achievements ever could, why I chose to dedicate my life to children, young people, and those who begin life with fewer opportunities than others. Before becoming the president of an organisation, a doctoral researcher, a civic actor, or the representative of an organisation that is now part of the Eurochild network, I was first a child who experienced vulnerability.
I was a child who learned very early that life does not begin in the same way for everyone. Some children begin life surrounded by stability, protection, affection, confidence, and support. Others begin with uncertainty, unanswered questions, emotional vulnerability, insecurity, and a deep need for belonging and care. I belonged to the second category.
I was born in Romania in a context marked by fragility and vulnerability. The beginning of my life was not simple. From an early age, I became familiar with the feeling of searching for my place in the world, trying to understand who I was, and learning how to move forward even when I did not have all the answers. I did not choose this beginning, just as no child chooses the family, circumstances, or difficulties into which they are born.
People who have experienced a lack of support can, in time, become creators of support for others. This is the deep connection between my life and A.S.A.T. I did not build this organisation out of formal ambition. I built it because I understood how much it matters for a young person to have access to people, opportunities, and institutions that take them seriously.
[...] If this story reaches other people, organisations, leaders, young people, or children facing difficulties, I hope it will convey several simple ideas. The first is that the beginning of life should not decide its end. A child born or raised in a vulnerable context should not be reduced to that context.
They need real opportunities, not labels. The second is that education can change destinies. Not only through diplomas, but through its ability to restore dignity, confidence, and direction. The third is that civil society has an essential role. Non-governmental organisations can reach places where institutions sometimes struggle to reach. They can listen, adapt, create communities, and transform real needs into concrete projects.
