Scholarships that break down barriers: A path to education for Roma talent

In Slovakia we have many young people from Roma communities who want to live a good and dignified life. Often, however, escaping generational poverty without help is not easy. Because we believe that education has the power to change lives, together with our Swiss partners we have decided to support the education of Roma high-school and university students in Slovakia through scholarship support. Without it, these young people would not have the opportunity to study.

More than just financial help: A programme built on trust and responsibility

We currently support 46 students, including 9 university students and 37 high-school students. These young people are not in the scholarship programme at random. They are recommended by a guarantor (priests, religious brothers or sisters, teachers, etc.) who vouches for the students and can confirm that each of them has the personal qualities to be admitted to the programme — i.e. they are sufficiently motivated, responsible, willing to contribute to community life through volunteer work, and they have study results adequate to enrol at the chosen school. As part of the programme, each student receives a financial contribution, which at the end of the month they must account for with receipts showing costs directly linked to their studies.

Mentoring as a support in the fight against prejudice and discrimination

During their studies, the students are accompanied by mentors — either their guarantors or pastoral workers, who motivate the students and help them to overcome any difficulties that may arise. One of the most common challenges these young people face is rejection by the majority population, discrimination and ridicule. This too is the sad reality of our society — one that, we believe, we can change for the better together.

One of the students in the scholarship programme is Vanesa, who is studying at a school of health care: “Already as a little girl I dreamed about becoming a nurse and I would often play at being one. Ever since I was small, I have been drawn to caring for others, and it was this longing that brought me to a secondary school of health care. Even though the studies are not easy, I never give up. I want to make my dream come true and become a paediatric nurse, so that I can help children and their families. I am fascinated by how a smile, support and loving care can make even the hardest moments easier for children and help them feel better.”

Strong partnerships for a generation that will bring change

We are implementing the project in cooperation with the Council of the Conference of Bishops of Slovakia (KBS) for Roma and Minorities, with financial support from the Swiss Salesian organization Don Bosco Jugendhilfe Weltweit. Many Roma communities from across Slovakia are involved in the project. Let us cheer on the students in this scholarship programme so that they do not give up and become the change they long to see in their communities.

Helping young people from Ukraine: From fleeing Lviv to a new home in Žilina

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, more than 40 children and young people fled from the Salesian orphanage in Lviv and found refuge in Slovakia. Once the situation in Lviv calmed down, they gradually returned to their Ukrainian home, but some of the young people stayed on to study in Slovakia, where they have better prospects.

A scholarship programme for building independence and responsibility

There are currently 5 such young people in the Salesian community in Žilina who have found a new home here. To help them stand on their own two feet, they receive a scholarship which helps cover the costs linked to their studies. In addition to the financial help, it is also an important school of thrift and responsibility for them.

A future in vocational education: What are our boys studying?

We are supporting the boys with the help of our partner organization Don Bosco Jugendhilfe Weltweit. What exactly are the boys studying? Each of them is preparing for their future profession in a different field:

• Gastronomy: Two of the boys are training for a career as a cook-waiter.
• The arts: One of the boys is studying flute.
• Technical and skilled trades: Others are training as a car mechanic and a joiner.

The war in Ukraine has hit not only Ukraine itself but also the surrounding countries, including Slovakia, which has had to cope with a large-scale humanitarian crisis. The Slovak Province of the Salesians of Don Bosco evacuated 46 children and young people from an orphanage in Lviv. The SAVIO o.z. project entitled “Immediate humanitarian aid for Ukrainian youth affected by the war” helped the evacuated young people the moment they arrived in Slovakia.

In the first phase of the project, immediate humanitarian aid and psychological support were provided to the 46 children and young people. The next stage focused on supporting their adaptation to life in Slovakia, including creating suitable living conditions, securing permanent accommodation, meals, education and leisure activities, as well as professional mentoring for these war-affected young people.

The target group of the project consists of Ukrainian orphans, half-orphans and children from broken families who found refuge in Slovakia after the outbreak of war. Of the 46 boys evacuated to Slovakia in February 2022, 12 young people aged 15–17 decided to stay and continue their studies here. The ongoing project will support their education in Slovakia until the end of the 2022/2023 academic year. The remaining boys returned to the orphanage in Lviv once the situation there had calmed down.

We thank the Swiss Salesian organization Don Bosco Jugendhilfe Weltweit for the financial support of the project in the amount of €40,000. Co-financing of the project in the amount of €4,000 is secured by the Slovak Province of the Salesians of Don Bosco.

It is well established that the integral formation of Roma — including support for their spiritual, educational, social and cultural development — leads to a greater interest in education and work on their part. The project Education of Roma Youth in Slovakia is aimed at supporting education and personal development in 12 marginalized Roma communities across Slovakia. 

The first planned outcome of the project is more systematic work in Roma communities, which can make pastoral work more effective. Across 12 Roma communities throughout Slovakia, home to 30,000 people in total, 34 pastoral workers are active. In order to improve pastoral work, we are analysing the pastoral activities carried out so far, training key staff and creating a competency profile for a pastoral worker. The second planned outcome is improving conditions in the pastoral centres — as part of which the roof of the centre in Bardejov–Poštárka, which before the project began was in a very poor state, is being repaired. The third planned outcome is a grant programme for young Roma students. Under it, secondary-school and university students from a socially disadvantaged background have the chance to receive a financial contribution towards their studies and continue on the path to education and a better life.

The project is being carried out by SAVIO o.z. in cooperation with the Swiss Salesian organization Jugendhilfe Weltweit (JuWe). It started in April 2022 and will be completed in September 2023. The total project budget is €149,962.51. Of this amount, JuWe is providing €134,962.51 through a private Swiss foundation, and €15,000 is co-financed by the Salesians of Don Bosco in Slovakia.

During the summer holidays, a group of youth leaders from across Slovakia ran a day camp in the Roma settlement of Strelník, near Slovak Paradise.

The activities the leaders prepared were an excellent opportunity for the children to spend their free time and to liven up their holiday programme. The children could meet Quasimodo and Esmeralda and, together with them, build new friendships, fight against the obstacles in their way and learn together. During the week, the leaders worked with the children on a variety of art workshops and made bracelets out of cotton thread and beads together, drew and learned new dances together. Football, skipping ropes and balls were an inseparable part of every day, and another big attraction was a tarp on which the children could slide. The games were not only about fun, and so the programme also included cleaning up the playground and the rest of the settlement together, with the leaders and children collecting rubbish into bags. The children from the settlement had the chance to learn many new things together with the leaders, but the leaders too left the camp encouraged by the joy of the children and their eagerness to actively get involved.

The day camp was made possible thanks to financial help from Resco, spol. s r.o. and thanks to the support of Savio o.z. Help in carrying it out was provided by the chaplain Štefan Belko and the parish priest Marián Sivoň from Letanovce, to whom we owe a great deal of thanks, as well as to the leaders, who devoted their free time to the camp.

Volunteers Vafa and Rasima from Azerbaijan came to Slovakia as part of the Youth Without
Prejudice project, supported by the EU’s European Solidarity Corps programme.

Their three-month volunteer stay in Slovakia began at the end of November 2019, and after arriving — thanks also to their previous experience with similar projects — they were able to throw themselves fully into the organization’s activities. Breaking down prejudices about different cultures and religions and also spreading the values of the European Solidarity Corps was an inseparable part of Vafa’s day-to-day activities at the Quo Vadis House.

In addition to helping out in the café as a barista and waitress, she had the opportunity not only to learn new words in Slovak and to get acquainted with Slovak culture, but above all to bring her home country of Azerbaijan closer to the café’s visitors. The presentations she gave as part of her work at the Quo Vadis House helped with this. Volunteer Rasima also had the opportunity to introduce Azerbaijan and Georgia to pupils at a primary school as part of her presentation.

Another part of her day-to-day activities was cooperation with Domka – Association of Salesian Youth, where she mainly helped out in the office and, especially among her colleagues, spread the idea of mutual respect and understanding. Prejudices and negative attitudes towards people of the Muslim faith are becoming more radicalized year by year in Slovak society too, and that is why it is very important to offer Slovaks the chance to get to know these people and to lead them to break down their prejudices. The opportunity to spend the Christmas holidays with Slovak families was an unforgettable experience for them, as was the chance to travel and get to know other European countries and cities. Thanks to this personal experience, Rasima and Vafa can present to young people in Azerbaijan the possibilities and benefits of volunteer programmes run through the EU’s European Solidarity Corps programme and thus draw them into volunteer work.