Natalia Amman is a nurse for AHF Estonia’s Linda Kliniik. Her story is next in our “I Am AHF” series featuring remarkable staff, clients, and partners who are doing what’s right to save lives everyday. Interviewed by Diana Shpak, Knowledge Management Focal Point, AHF Europe.
On October 6, 2026, Natalia Amman will mark 10 years of service at AHF Linda Kliniik in Narva, Estonia. Natalia works as a nurse conducting HIV testing and supporting those undergoing treatment. Yet behind her anniversary lies far more than a professional milestone. It is the story of a woman for whom helping others has become her true calling.
Natalia was born in Karja, Estonia, into a family where two cultures came together: her father was Estonian, her mother Russian, and Russian was the language spoken at home. She grew up as an only child and, she often dreamed of having a brother or sister. From an early age, she carried a special love for children and a deep desire to care for others.
The idea of studying medicine came to her clearly and without hesitation. “This is who I am. To help people, to give everything that is within my power,” Natalia says. She became a nurse and later even dreamed of becoming a surgeon. For Natalia, choosing medicine was not a coincidence, but the answer to who she wanted to be.
Did you start working right after finishing your studies? What was that period of your life like?
After completing my studies, I began working in the pediatric department of Narva Hospital. I had loved children since childhood, so it felt like a very natural path for me. I worked there for 11 years, caring for children from newborns to teenagers. It was a very special kind of work. For them, we were not only nurses but sometimes mothers too. We took care of them, persuaded them, sang songs, and braided their hair. I always had a good connection with children, and I felt that it was mutual.
Why did you leave that job?
At that time, Estonia was going through staff reductions, including in healthcare. I was affected by one of those waves of layoffs. Around the same period, my older son became seriously ill, and I did not work for some time, as I was focused on his health. Later, my former head nurse called me and told me that the maternity department needed a nurse. She knew that I had experience working with newborns, including premature babies and infants who required especially careful attention. I agreed immediately.
And did you stay there for a long time as well?
Well, again for 11 years. I truly loved working in the maternity department. While many hospital departments are more often connected with illness, this one felt like a true “department of happiness.” Of course, there were still urgent cases, serious moments, and unpredictable situations, but at the same time it was a place where life begins. We had a wonderful team there of doctors, midwives, and nurses, and everyone was very kind and always ready to help one another. That was something deeply precious.
How did your work with AHF begin?
That, too, was a matter of circumstance. My personal life went through major changes. I separated from my husband. We have two sons, and for me it was very important, no matter what, to preserve a sense of family for them. Then, after some time, I learned about my HIV-positive status. As a medical professional, I received the news calmly and with clarity. Of course, there were emotions, there were inner questions, and there was a period when trust became harder. But I understood that life goes on, and I had to keep moving forward.
Later, I met with the senior nurse who was working with AHF at the time. We started talking, and it turned out that they were looking for a nurse. It felt almost like fate.
Did you join AHF right away?
Not immediately. For some time, I continued working at the maternity hospital, but on my days off I had already started coming to the AHF clinic. It was important for me to understand this field more deeply. All my life I had worked with children, whereas here the patients were adults, each with their own story, often a very difficult one. I read a great deal, learned as much as I could, and observed closely so that I could feel confident and truly be of help. When I officially started working at the clinic on October 6, 10 years ago, it felt familiar. I already knew the place, the people, and many of the clients already knew me.
From the very first days, did you feel that you were where you truly belonged?
Yes, exactly. Everything unfolded very naturally. Even though this was a completely different field, I felt that I could truly be useful here. And people accepted me warmly.
I imagine this work felt especially close to you in some way, perhaps deeply familiar?
Yes, in many ways it did feel familiar to me, and very personal. But I always understood that my own story was one thing, while the people who come to the clinic carry lives of their own, each with their own fate, pain, addictions, and fears. Here, the most important thing is trust. People come back because they know that here, they will be listened to, supported, and not left alone. Sometimes a person needs more than medical care; they simply need someone who can calmly help them find their footing in a moment of panic and stress.
How have you changed over these 10 years?
Experience, of course, changes a person profoundly. With age, with life itself, and through the stories of others, you begin to see the world and its values differently. Over these years, I have witnessed many difficult lives, sometimes stories so painful they shake you to the core. But it is precisely this that has taught me to value human strength even more deeply. Despite hardship, addiction, loss, rehabilitation, even life on the very edge, they have not lost their inner core. Like phoenixes, they have managed to rise again. And that is very inspiring.
Does your work help you appreciate life even more deeply?
Yes, absolutely. It teaches me to see that even after the hardest periods, a person can still preserve their inner light, their ability to rejoice in the sun, in birdsong, in simple things. And that is incredibly precious.
How many patients usually visit AHF Linda Kliniik?
On average, around 100 or more people each month. We communicate with them, both in person and by phone. People come not only for medical help, but also for support, advice, and sometimes simply for the chance to talk. For example, there are several women who are very reserved and have not fully accepted their diagnosis. They have my personal number, and sometimes they write to me in very difficult moments. I understand how important that is. Of course, professionally, there should be a boundary between personal life and work, but I believe that sometimes there are exceptions, moments when a person especially needs someone to be there.
What does happiness mean to you?
For me, happiness is my children and my granddaughter. That is the most important thing. My granddaughter is now 15 months old, and of course that is a very special joy. But the birth of my children and the birth of my granddaughter, all of this is equally great happiness for me. Because when I hold my granddaughter in my arms, it feels as though I am returning to those moments when I first became a mother myself. And I understand that the birth of a child is probably the happiest moment in a woman’s life. Nothing compares to it. You are not simply holding a new life in your arms, you carried that life within you, you gave them their beginning.
What feels close to you today in your vision of life?
Lightness of being. As we grow older, we begin to think too much, weigh everything, place limits on ourselves. And yet in youth, so much was done more lightly, more boldly, more freely. I think it is very important not to lose that feeling but to allow yourself to live, to try, to rejoice, not to postpone life for later. Because everything truly passes so quickly, and I want each day to be lived fully and genuinely.
If you had to describe your work at AHF in three words, which would you choose?
Kindness, sincerity, and openness. I believe that true help for others is built on exactly these values.
If you remove all roles, diagnoses, and achievements – who are you in your essence?
I would compare myself to a daisy. It is a simple flower but very delicate and fragile. I feel that there is something of that in me too: softness, vulnerability, and a kind of quiet refinement, even though outwardly people sometimes perceive me quite differently. I love flowers, I love seeing beauty in small things, I love taking photographs, noticing nuances. And perhaps I feel close to the daisy because of its naturalness, without unnecessary loudness, yet with its own special beauty. It has been a great pleasure for me to share my story. We are all different, we live in different countries, and each of us has our own path, and there is a special value in that. Through conversations like these, we come to understand not only one another better, but also ourselves.
