Small steps, big changes

Here at Open Hand we strongly believe that celebrating small victories in life is beneficial and necessary. Celebrating a small victory is an opportunity to reflect on how much we have achieved, which gives us the strength to continue, especially when it comes to the difficult process of recovery and rehabilitation after a lifetime of fighting a drug addiction. Such is the case of one of the beneficiaries of our rehabilitation program, Ana, who lived until now a life that’s hard to imagine. She has been growing up and lived on the streets of Bucharest since she was 13 years old and eventually ended up using high-risk drugs for a very long period of her life. Year after year, one attempt after another to quit her addictions, Ana has fully experienced what failure and helplessness mean, repeatedly losing the fight over drugs.

Ana celebrated her first 6 months since she joined our program for the second time (her first attempt took place in 2010, when she stayed at the Open Hand for 3 weeks).

It is the first time when she is truly fighting for a life free of addiction and her first time to be abstinent for a period longer than a month. And so we decided to celebrate her, to encourage her and to build her confidence and motivation, in hopes that she will continue fighting the good fight.

It is important to acknowledge your progress and to be proud of your accomplishments. Being recognized and supported by those around you helps you evolve.

R. Rossetti