“Joining Our Effort”: Roma Kids from Roškovce and Petrová Get a Boost for School -- and Life

August 18, 2008

Field trip to Spišský hrad. Credit: Miroslava Hapalová.

The distance between the Slovak villages of Petrová (Bardejov district) and Roškovce (Levoca district) is about 100 kilometers, but in both Roma young people face similar problems: school failures, insufficient development opportunities, segregation from the majority population, despair. The project “Joining Our Effort,” funded in part by the Embassy, helps to eliminate these barriers, with the expertise of Slovak NGOs Pre Pindre and People in Need, which manage community centers in Petrová and Roškovce. Everyday activities of the two centers --extra tutoring, pre-school preparation and various hobby groups such as dancing and computers -- during the summer holiday were enriched by trips and camps. All activities of the centers are carried out with the help of voluntary workers -- Roma people from local communities, who took part at the first of the series of trainings. These trainings prepare the adults to run the centers, by learning methods of how to work with young people.