It is late afternoon on a typical spring day in the idyllic village of Veľké Leváre in western Slovakia. Outside the local shops, groups of young people are gathering in small circles, talking, drinking and smoking cigarettes.
"We could see a lot of kids and young people in our village having nothing to do after school," said Mária Biksadská of the municipal office in Veľké Leváre. "The village does not offer much in terms of after school activities, so most kids end up hanging out on the streets, where they often are introduced to smoking, drinking and drugs at a very young age."
Through a joint initiative by the municipality, the NGO Ciste sdce, and the local primary school, a new hobby centre has been established to cater for the needs of local youth. "The support from the EEA Grants enabled us to contact youth on the street and kids struggling at school, in order to offer them fun activities and an opportunity to think differently about life." Through providing meaningful activities, Biksadská and her team aim to support the local youngsters in leaving behind bad habits such as smoking, drinking, drugs and skipping school.
Every afternoon of the working week, children flock to the centre to play board games and cards, draw and paint. The new fully equipped computer room has proved very popular among the visitors. Local volunteers are always present to look after the children, and to help them with homework and other activities. Some 60 children attend the centre regularly, where they participate in a range of activities, from homework support to a debating club, drama classes, folk dance and singing. The centre also organises activities for special holidays, and a series of weekend programmes and workshops are in the pipeline.