The ordinary man’s gala

Today we will bring you a report from a more unusual event initiated by the Delivering Life Foundation which took place on a late January afternoon on the platforms of an underground station located in one of Bucharests main business and corporate distri

România Internațional, 17.02.2013, 19:10

The employees taking the underground home after work found themselves stepping on a red carpet covering the stairs to the platforms among cheers and inspirational messages delivered via loudspeakers by a group of volunteers carrying motivational signs and placards.

Andrei Tudose, from the Delivering Life Foundation, explains: “We like to take people by surprise and break off their routine, trying to make them feel better.”

We also asked one of the volunteers why she got involved in this activity: “I came here to impart joy. I travel by metro myself and I don’t like to see people exhausted after a day’s work who only want to get home as quickly as possible. So, together with the other volunteers, I came here to give these people a cheer, make them smile and get them to share in our joy.”

The underground station was full of TV crews and photographers and everything looked like an award gala. But let’s see how some of the passengers enjoyed this star-like treatment: “I’m a little tired after a busy day at work, but I’m really enjoying the atmosphere.”

Florentina, on the other hand, says she is not impressed: “Maybe they thought their idea was original, but I don’t think it is, it’s probably borrowed from abroad. I don’t trust these things, I think they are invented by NGOs to prove they are doing something and claim European money.”

So we asked Andrei Tudose who paid for the whole event: “There are no costs, or at least they’re insignificant. We only bought some batteries, 2 square meters of red carpet and some placards. People volunteered to help because they feel inspired by what we do and want to offer something to the others.”

Such events, designed to make people take a break from the daily routine, are good pretexts both for those involved in the event and for onlookers to think of the actual significance of the event. Andrei Tudose told us that, from his point of view, the event was a successful experiment.

Andrei Tudose: “People have joined in the game. Corporate people played along and signed autographs, laughed and reached out to us. I personally believe life is a gift and I always look for things that make me feel good and which can influence the lives of the people around me. I myself get sometimes caught in the daily routine and realise how days, weeks, months and even years pass by without me enjoying life as I should. I think it’s essential to live life to the fullest. That’s how the idea of the event was born.”

The next similar event hosted by the Delivering Life Foundation will be held on February 26th. The location is still unknown. It may at the airport, in a crowded shopping centre, or maybe somewhere else, in an unusual location. The volunteers from Delivering Life will pop up as if from out of nowhere, carrying placards and loudspeakers and will do their best to make you smile. So say cheese!