STELP: When was your first point of contact with STELP?
Mihaela: My first point of contact with STELP was in 2020, when I wanted to start a fundraising campaign for STELP on Facebook for my birthday. At the time, Serkan was personally very active on Facebook, posting appeals for various aid campaigns that really moved and impressed me. I was happy and glad that I could support him and STELP. Then came December 10, when he and a team of STELP supporters set off for Afghanistan to distribute relief supplies. I was very moved by this mission and I not only made a donation but also gave him a huge thank you for his courageous work.
STELP: What was your most defining STELP moment?
Mihaela: My most memorable STELP moment was definitely the mission in Beirut in January 2022, when STELP distributed relief supplies such as food and medicine to families in need. I contacted Serkan again at that time because I wanted to donate quickly and easily. I was incredibly grateful to him at the time for his commitment to the helpless people and for taking such a big risk. That is true charity and we should all take it as an example.
STELP: What characterizes the STELP team for you?
Mihaela: For me, there is nothing greater than STELP. So much courage, so much commitment, so much risk, so many relief operations in many life-threatening areas, some of which are carried out by volunteers – I have never experienced anything like it. I bow down to all these people who are ready for action without hesitation.
STELP: Where does the motivation to support STELP come from?
Mihaela: I am a social person, I am a volunteer myself and I believe that without social and civic engagement, the world would be a much worse place. For me, civic engagement is a duty.
STELP: Which aid project is particularly close to your heart?
Mihaela: The projects on Lesbos. The projects in Lebanon. The projects in Ukraine. The projects in Afghanistan.
Oh, somehow all of them. I can’t make up my mind. All the aid projects support people in need in different ways. The people at STELP have an incredible amount of courage and stamina and sometimes put the lives of others before their own. That’s remarkable and you can’t thank them enough for that.
STELP: Describe STELP with three keywords.
Mihaela: Love, Life/Survival, Passion
