Precarity continues to weigh on the schooling of several Roma children supported by Opre Rrom in Lausanne. The association is now calling on the city to also take action regarding their families’ living conditions.
The Novo mesto Society for the Development of Voluntary Work organized a day trip for young Roma from Brezje and Jedinščica to the Prekmurje Roma community, where they visited various cultural and educational sites.
The trip aimed to enhance the young Roma’s understanding of their culture and language, as well as to expose them to successful practices in the region, fostering their educational and employment aspirations.
Participants expressed their excitement about the experience, highlighting the importance of such opportunities for personal growth and community connection.
The twenty-first edition of the Children’s Roma Festival “Open Heart” is being held on June 5 and 6 in Veliko Tarnovo. It officially opened on Friday at 1 pm in the “Marno Pole” park and it is expected that about 1500 children and students will participate. In parallel with the festival program, accompanying events will be held, in which diplomats, politicians and experts will participate.
A round table presented the results of the analysis of the project “Roma Women’s Activism in the Protection of Roma Girls from Violence Caused by Child Marriages”, which aims to reduce the rate of child marriages among the Roma population, and the 10 cities covered by the project, including Vranje, which has the highest rate of child marriages.
Welfare Minister Reinis Uzulnieks congratulated the family that welcomed the first set of triplets this year and thanked the maternity hospital staff. The state will soon provide the family with a one-time benefit of 15,000 euros, the minister announced on social media.
The minister also responded to negative comments on social media, noting: “Today I congratulated the parents of the triplets. I have already received negative comments about Indians, etc. I’d like to emphasize that this is a Roma family who returned to Latvia after 15 years in England, and the husband found work in forestry in Valmiera. They emphasize that nowhere is as good and beautiful as home! May they succeed!
Rehearsals for the Romano voďi (Roma Soul) singing group take place regularly every Tuesday. For the children, it is a fixed point in the week that they look forward to. “We rehearse in the facilities of the Mutual Coexistence organization on Bieblová Street in Ostrava,” says Milan Giovanni Bindatsch. However, it is not just about “singing”. According to him, the key is to work systematically and sensitively. “It’s not just about singing itself, but mainly about working with the voice and listening to others so that the children sing in harmony with each other and don’t shout at each other,” says Bindatsch.
According to estimates, between 60 and 70% placed in institutions in Bulgaria are Roma, although Roma make up just over 10% of the population. Sometimes they end up there with unconvincing arguments. The state does not collect data on any stage of the process, but a study by the Non-Profit Association “Equal Opportunities Initiative” shows that on the one hand, institutions are more likely to remove Roma children from their families, and on the other hand, one of the main risks leading to separation between children and parents – poverty – most often occurs among Roma. The researchers brought together community representatives and organizations working with families at risk in search of solutions.
The Bulgarian children’s Roma Festival “Open Heart” gathers over 1,500 children from all over Bulgaria. The program includes exhibitions, music, theatre, crafts, and traditions. The main emphasis this year is the desire to give a voice not only to children, but also to Romnja, cultural figures and community leaders.
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