Meet Lapinlahti people: Nikoza Suokas

“Lapinlahti is nice to come to. It’s a lovely place, cosy and friendly. I wish people would come and discover Lapinlahti,” says Nikoza Suokas.

Nikoza has been working in the communications team of Pro Lapinlahti mental health association since summer 2024. She first heard about Lapinlahti when her husband Pavel came to Lapinlahti in spring 2023 to work in property maintenance. Nikoza had been blogging in her spare time and was interested in the opportunity to develop her communication skills and professionalism in Lapinlahti. His media apprenticeship contract with Pro Lapinlahti runs until at least June 2025.

Nikoza was born in Moscow but has lived in Finland for nearly 30 years. In addition to her spouse, her family includes three children, which is why she stayed at home for a long time. Nikoza has also completed a degree as a cosmetologist-hairdresser, but she had to admit that it wasn’t the right field for her. Discovering Lapinlahti opened up completely new professional opportunities for her.

Nikoza’s main job has been to shoot videos and take photographs of events at Lapinlahti Spring. She has edited the videos and posted them on social media. Nikoza has also subtitled videos and developed Pro Lapinlahti’s communication from a sign language perspective.

“People have been friendly, and I have not had any obstacles here as an employee. I’ve liked the fact that Lapinlahti is doing more subtitling for video postings than before. Sign language and subtitles improve the access of deaf people to information and participation in different events.”

In the future, Nikoza would also like to conduct history tours in sign language:

“I think it would be an interesting experience for secondary school pupils who attend a school for the deaf, for example. For other visitors to Lapinlahti, a history tour would also provide important and thought-provoking information.”

Nikoza says that the campaign to secure public ownership of Lapinlahti was a unique and powerful experience for her:

“I have never taken a stand in society and I would like to learn how to influence political decisions. It was great to see how hard people worked on the campaign, and we fought together. We can be proud of ourselves and that we achieved our goal so well.”

Nikoza is interested in continuing to operate in Lapinlahti:

“I have enjoyed my time in Lapinlahti very much. I like my job, and it’s a great place to work and close to home. The old castle-like atmosphere, the park and the seaside. You can just walk around and look around or go swimming in the summer. I really love this environment. I love it!”

“I wish Lapinlahti would stay here forever and nothing would change. Of course, the inside of the buildings need to be renovated, but I hope that the outside of the area will remain unchanged. The activities could continue in the same way, and Lapinlahti would continue to be an open place for everyone to gather and for cultures to meet,” concludes Nikoza.

Text: Juhana Heikkilä
Photo: Nikoza Suokas