Romanian Roma woman dines with Queen Elisabeth

The Guardian recently reported on Romanian Ramona Constantin's amazing story. Ramona is a Roma woman who used to sell The Big Issue on the streets of Manchester, but now she's having lunch with Queen Elisabeth and Prince Philip, after getting involved in a training scheme for young Roma adults. Ramona, 27, came to UK two years ago and until six months ago she sold The Big Issue - a magazine produced for sale by the homeless in the UK, allowing them to earn some money. She became fluent in English and now works as a community interpreter, youth and family worker and classroom assistant. She attended the Lord Mayor's diamond jubilee luncheon at Manchester Town Hall last week, attended by the Queen and Prince Philip, along with other charity workers, community figures and volunteers. The Guardian wrote about Ramona Constantin's remarkable story and quotes her as saying "Being invited to this was an amazing thing - it's also the only time that my mum and family back in Romania have said they are proud of me." Ramona also said that her story shows "that anyone can achieve things if they put their mind to it." Read the full article here. Find out more about the Big Issue magazine here. editor@romania-insider.com