the gorgeous Romanian model, Iulia Vantur, was recently at the city of Nawabs – Lucknow for an event, where she heard about the unique café ‘Sheroes Hangout Café.’
Situated at Gomit Nagar in Lucknow, Sheroes Hangout Café is a unique initiative by Chhanv Foundation for the rehabilitation of acid attack survivors, which is managed wholly by acid attack survivors. The Akhilesh Yadav government of Uttar Pradesh had sponsored the land for the café.
When Iulia got to know of ‘Sheroes’, she decided to visit it and meet the courageous girls at the café. Upon arrival, Iulia said, “They are the heroes, they are the survivors, they are the fighters. We can’t even imagine what they are facing every single day. And hence they need support from us.”
Speaking about coming forward to support these girls, Iulia emphasised on the fact that the support necessarily need not be financial. Iulia said, “Of course, while financial support is great, but they also need emotional support. Imagine waking up one day and not seeing yourself anymore, the way you used to. And often many of them have the society rejecting them, and that is the main issue. They are rejected by the society, and we are that society. It is our responsibility to take this these girls’ hand and help them and be there for them. And this is something we can do without money.”
Iulia who feels strongly about these acid attack survivors also voiced her opinion on how it is essential for all of us to do something about this grave problem. Iulia said, “While extending support for them is important, it is also important to questions ourselves as to what is happening to all these humans who are doing things like that. I can’t imagine a human being doing this to another human being, and this is so painful. I believe in karma whatever we do it will come back to you. But till then as a society, we need to do something about this problem.”
Iulia also acknowledged Chhanv Foundation’s efforts and dedication to rehabilitating the acid attack survivors. She said, “Thank you for doing this.” She also added, “I will be there for this girls as much as I can.”
