NEW: Project magazine
The EEA and Norway Grants support the Divé maky (Wild Poppies) project, a talent training programme that enrolls Roma children and youth from poor, deprived families in Slovakia to support their artistic development and education.
The programme normally relies on individual donations towards a specific child. But thanks to a €630,000 grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, the organisation PRO DONUM is able to initiate a large-scale pilot programme for 100 children in the Roma settlement in Jarovnice.
Jarovnice in eastern Slovakia is one of the country's largest Romani settlements and battles high levels of poverty and social exclusion. Half of the people living here are children under 15.
In the pilot project, 100 children aged 8 to 15 will get a chance to work closely with teachers, artists and social workers in order to develop their academic abilities and talents. 20-40 of these will be selected to pursue advanced activities including 2 summer academies. A social worker position will be established in the area and the children's families, school and local community will need to be involved. "It is very important to not only educate the children, but to also offer the family support and motivation," project coordinator Barbora Kohutikova said.
"Children from segregated Roma communities are given a unique opportunity to work on their education, dreams, and develop their talent through our support. It is really great to see how we are helping to build positive examples and how it is slowly changing the negative opinion of the Roma population", Kohutikova said.
SEE ALSO: A diary from the summer academy by Anka Podlesna
In August, more than 60 Roma youth took part in the Wild Poppies yearly summer academy. The summer camp allows the children enrolled in the programme to further develop their talents within music, acting, arts and crafts under the supervision of professional artists.