This project faced an enormous loss in March, when the mother of this project, and the project leader, our beloved friend, teacher and collegue Ulla-Maija Koivula, Uma passed away unexpectedly.
Uma was truly an international person. She had wide networks around the world and she worked in multiple international projects trough out her career, Making my Future ended up being one of the last ones.
So while finishing this project, we will celebrate her life and work. Uma has brought together so many people, and now it is up to us to continue her work among international social work.
Uma has inspired so many people. Working with her has been a joy for so many of us. I think that all of us who has ever had a chance so spend even a short time with her can really feel her energy. Working together was full on laughter and excitement. She gave her heart to her work. She LOVED her job. She would have been able to retire already a few years ago, but she enjoyed everything so much that she continued to work until the very end.
For me she was an idol and a mentor. We share the same spark and I am honoured to continue as the international coordinator just like she once did here at TAMK. She has opened up my route to international projects and I have learned so much from her.
She was always eager to learn and to widen her perspective. She made learning and studying fun! It has been said that the most important skills for future are empathy, critical thinking and creativity. And those are exactly her features. I am sure her spirit is with us today. Once again, she has brought all of us together. And especially during these pandemic times this is the most important thing to focus on. Sharing our thoughts and ideas, evoking the feeling of togetherness.
As a tribute to Uma, we have prepared a video of the Latvian intensive from August 2020, that was her last project trip abroad, in Making my Future. She has given keys for better future for many individuals but also she has been building better structures for our social welfare system.
