From Zero to HERO

Ilyés Lóránd considers himself lucky that since childhood, his life has evolved in such a way that movement and sports have been an integral part of his daily life, something established by the play activities around the apartment blocks of that time and the vacations spent at his grandparents’ place. Through the tasks performed at his grandparents’ farm in Dârjiu/Székelyderzs, he gained many life experiences that continue to help him to this day. “I feel that my childhood environment and my nature-close perspective have created an ability in me that also shows in collaborating with people,” says Lóránd. He believes that this is where his sensitivity towards community activities comes from, as well as his commitments related to sports and nature-close projects, and not only these. The need to take responsibility for certain causes and to act actively in this regard, where perspective shaping and inspiration play an important role, developed naturally within him.

He is 31 years old, from Odorheiu Secuiesc/Székelyudvarhely, and he is a photographer. He has spent more than half of his life photographing and experiencing through photography some of the most beautiful moments. He has traveled the country far and wide, always seeking to promote the beauty of places we sometimes forget or may not even know exist. After photographing all of Transylvania from a plane in the 2011 project “Flying over Transylvania,” he launched the project “Flying over the Mountains of Romania” in 2018 with the goal of creating documentary materials about the country’s spectacular mountains. He climbed 18 different mountains and covered over 1,300 kilometers on their trails, capturing them with a drone from unique perspectives. The project will continue with an educational phase, with the created materials to be made available to teachers, students, and those passionate about studying the geography of Romania’s mountains.

Botond Barabás was born in Odorheiu Secuiesc/Székelyudvarhely, and spent his high school years here, which he describes as “difficult and full of struggles.” Then, in the year before his university entrance exams, something happened: Botond realized that he was not a bad student; he just hadn’t found what truly interested him, what he could consider his vocation. He finally found this at the university: he was admitted on his first try, and with a scholarship, to the University of Theatre in Târgu Mureș/Marosvásárhely. He became an actor, played every role he could, and hadn’t even turned 20 when he stepped onto the stage of the National Theatre in Budapest alongside the greatest artists. Then he went to Szolnok, a city he has called home for 20 years. Since 2021, he has been trying a different role: he is the director of the Szigligeti Theatre in Szolnok.

“I feel that fate has been generous with me, as the great masters quickly discovered certain things in me and propelled me from one step of my career to the next. However, it is true that I worked for everything I achieved; I didn’t get anything for free in this profession”, says Botond.

She was born and raised in Székelyudvarhely. After finishing high school, she graduated from the Acting Department of Babeș–Bolyai University in Cluj Napoca, and subsequently became an actress at the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj. “I am a Single Mother and an Actress, with two beautiful children, my daughter and my son. Life has taught me many lessons, and it will continue to do so. I am ready for whatever comes!” – says Andrea.

Dina Tuns is an economist with 17 years of experience in corporations, more than half of which she spent in the United Kingdom. Working in corporations no longer brought her satisfaction, so together with her husband, Florin, they decided to return to Romania after spending over 8 years in the UK. They needed a project that would allow them to return home and at the same time escape the increasingly stifling urban life.

Thus, they created Viewtopia – The Secret Land, a holiday village located in Valea Drăganului, which this year marks its third year of activity. They moved from a hectic schedule filled with goals and targets, the clichéd 9 to 5, to a life without a clock and a schedule from 7 to 21, but full of satisfaction. Their story is one of will and perseverance, with Dina and her husband confident that each small step forward brought them closer to their dream.

Majzik Tamás was born in Szeged, and since 2011 he has been teaching Hungarian language in Bacău/Bákó County. His determination to prepare consciously for Moldova arose during his high school years. After completing his teacher training, he joined the Hungarian Csángó Association in Moldova and has been living in Dumbrăveni, a small village of about 400 inhabitants, ever since. For years, he taught and lived in an old two-room house, but with the help of civil supporters, they managed to build a modern community center in the village. He believes that children in small villages also deserve access to modern pedagogy and methodology.

He continues to further educate himself constantly to prepare his students for the challenges of the 21st century. They regularly engage in robotics, coding, artificial intelligence, and any other topics that support the development of essential skills for the future. “As an educator, my most important goal is to turn my students into real ‘superheroes’: balanced and prepared adults capable of creating real value. Additionally, my most important task is to raise awareness in my community about the linguistic and cultural treasures of the Hungarian community in Moldova,” says Tamás.

Three-time Olympic champion, 26-time world champion, and 36-time European champion swimmer Hosszú Katinka was born in Pécs in 1989. She is the first competitor to simultaneously hold the world record in all five individual medley events. Her greatest success came at the 2016 Rio Olympics, where she won 3 gold medals and 1 silver medal, making her the most successful swimmer in individual events at that Olympics. The last time the audience saw Katinka Hosszú was at the 2022 European Championships in Rome, but this year she has returned to the pool with the goal of competing in her sixth Olympics in Paris.

Benkő Zsolt has been involved with dogs continuously since his childhood; according to him, his life has always revolved around these four-legged companions. Zsolt, who lives in Farkaslaka and works as a mountain rescuer and dog trainer, believes that professional work with dogs is not just a hobby or sport but a way of life. More than 10 years have passed since he took his dogs to “training camp” and trained them to search for missing persons in mountain terrain, thickets, and both hidden and open areas. He was the first in Hargita County to have dogs that acquired this skill—before that, dogs were brought in from Cluj-Napoca/Kolozsvár when a missing person needed to be found.

25-years old Mahdi Said Kafiya is originally from a small town in Somalia. She came to Hungary about 11 years ago at the age of 15 as a refugee, by herself, without any parent or guardian and has been living in Hungary since then. Coming to a new country without anyone, not knowing the language and also the culture was a big challenge. She started going to school, and working right away. During her last year of school she started working as a model. As a model she is known as Rea Milla. It was just a hobby at first that she did next to school and next to her student part time job. But after graduating she started modeling full time, and she has worked with almost every big Hungarian brand since then. During her time at the children’s homes a documentary movie was made about her called Easy Lessons. 

“Being alone from a very young age has taught me many things, and one of them is how to always strive for better things and a better future, and take every chance that life gives you. I am a person who is always striving for more in life and helping people along the way as I can. Because I believe that everyone should give back to our world”, she says.

She was born in Budapest in 1971. After high school, she began her studies at the Faculty of General Medicine at Semmelweis University. In 1990, she suffered a severe car accident that defined her entire life and way of thinking. In 1991, interrupting her studies, she spent a year as a street musician in Paris. After returning, she resumed her studies. She began her medical career in 1996 as a paramedic, and since 2002, she has worked in the pharmaceutical industry. In 2002, she married Greguss Sándor, a writer. Since 2005, she has run her own family medicine practice. Her youthful adventurous spirit and overwhelming willingness to help continue to characterize her.

In 2015, she visited Africa for the first time as a member of a medical mission in Uganda. Together with her husband, she founded the Afréka International Humanitarian Foundation. So far, she has participated in 16 medical missions organized by the foundation (11 times in Nigeria, once each in Congo, Uganda, Chad, and twice in Ghana).

Adél Dénes was born in Odorheiu Secuiesc/Székelyudvarhely and currently lives in Budapest. She defines herself as a self-made cultural organizer. She began her career as a founding member of the Moszkva Café in Oradea/Nagyvárad, then continued as a band manager and festival organizer.

She is the creator of the Hajógyár music platform and is currently working on supporting cultural values as the director of pop music and programs at the Petőfi Cultural Agency.

He was born in the Vargyas strait, and grew up there. Isolated from the world and norms. He grew up in a backward time, he adjusted his own fate and fortune, which was not always kind to him. And from this, he built his life to perfection for himself. An alpinist woodcutter, a mountain rescuer, who at the age of 22 raises his minor, school-aged brother. After many hardships, he finally believes he wants to live and make the most out of every situation.