Inauguration of the Association

September 29, 2019

Excerpt from the speech given on the opening of the Associação Tu és Uma Jóia

"In my dealings with so many individuals and then later with individuals in crisis, I have come close to defining the core issue of our present time: lack of empathy and compassion due to too self- involved attitudes, the sentiment of despair, solitude, etc.

"Audere Est Facere somehow was the solution slowly adapted and implemented. The Latin word basically means To dare is to do, or you need to believe in what you want to achieve and put that belief into action. Tu és uma Jóia was born out of the necessity to respond to this need.

"Healing process isn't just about leading with physicians, nurses or social assistants, it's about the entire journey.

"We touch people's lives by simply existing. But if we choose to use your status and influence to raise our voice on behalf of voiceless, if we choose to identify not only with the powerful, but with powerless, if we retain the ability to imagine ourselves into the lives of those who do not have our advantage(physical or emotional), then we have practiced the power of human empathy leading to collective action which save and transfer lives. We are our emotions. It is the essence of our being. We sustain emotional injuries even more often than we do physical ones, injuries like a failure, rejection, loneliness, fragility in sickness . They can all get worse if ignored and consequently can impact our lives in dramatic ways. When in emotional pain, we need to treat ourselves with the same compassion as you would expect from a truly good friend. Tu és uma Jóia represents that very good friend at the moment of crisis.

"I hope we all can experience bliss, levels of happiness and not mere levels of survival. From my national and international experience, I have come to realize how big life is, how intense, joyful, painful, complicated and beautiful our lives can be . We have no choice but to embrace everything with commitment, with hope, and with resilience, always under any circumstances."

-Tu és uma Jóia Founder, Nazanin Bidabadi