There are 2324 people living in the village of Mikrevo, among which 1000 Roma people. Out of the total number of the Roma population 80% are illiterate and live under the social minimum. A great part of these people are parents of pupils, who do not attend regularly school classes and do not understand well the need to encourage their children to go to school. The school in the village of Mikrevo is the largest among all schools in the municipality of Strumyani. More than 247 children study there (I to X grade) and among them all the Roma children are around 40%. The main problem of the School Management and the teachers is related to the efforts to keep the Roma children in the school, preventing early dropping out from the learning education process.
The efforts of the school management and the teachers were focused on 80 Roma children, pupils in the Otets Paisii school, 45 of them coming from families suffering from severe social problems, isolation and poor living conditions. These children were not attending regularly the school classes and therefore were directly threatened from dropping out before the end of the high-school, some of them after 2 or 3 years at school.
The first step undertaken by the school team has been to visit the Roma neighbourhood and the families of the target children, in order to discuss with them the high importance of their children going regularly to school, the significance of the education and the possibilities it provides for the future realisation of the children. The visit also aimed at the gathering of feedback information on behalf of the Roma families on the existing deficiencies and needs, as well as presented the idea of the project, looking for the support of the parents. This initiative created favourable conditions for interaction and better understanding of the problems of the target group. In addition to that the project organised a public discussion with the participation of the Roma families, the local authority, non-governmental organisations, and community representatives. During the meeting were discussed the problems and needs of the Roma families, put forward during the visit of the school representatives to the Roma neighbourhood. The public meeting also focused on the necessity from education, learning, active participation in the school activities (especially stressing on the Roma children, who are the most vulnerable group within all the school-children) and the role of the parents in this process was also discussed. The present parents of the Roma children showed interest towards the community initiatives and demonstrated their support in the future project implementation.
The next initiative within the project was the organisation of a charity campaign, which main mission was to collect clothes, shoes, textbooks and notebooks for the Roma children. The Social Care Directorate took part in the initiative and helped the school management to identify the families with most urgent need, who were given the donations from the charity campaign. Many citizens, children, teachers, parents took part in the initiative.
Another activity within the project was the refreshment of the school facility where the students have lunch every day. The room was fully painted; the floor and the walls were refurbished and isolated, so it became much more pleasant, warm and comfortable for all the pupils in the school. The reconstruction has been done according all sanitary and hygienic requirements of the responsible authorities.
At the same time the school team involved in the project implementation started the formulation of the various interest groups, targeted towards the Roma children in the school. The first interest group was titled The Roma children are drawing , the other one engaged children interested in theatre; the third group was Roma rhythm and the last group provoked the interest of the children for sport activities. The approach within the project stepped on a very simple idea to take the original interests of the Roma children and use them as motivators for keeping the children at school, doing what they best like and what they usually do not have the chance to learn. Each of the interest groups gathered once a week and the classes continued for 1 hour. The interest on behalf of the children was great and more than 40 children took part in these groups.
The various interest groups were included as presenters in all municipal cultural and traditional fests and events. Through matching the interest of the children with practical possibility to be involved in such an activity, the school team managed to motivate the children to participate in these events and improve the social environment and keep the children in the educational process.
The project helped to ensure sport equipments for the students in the sport interest group; the parents of the children who were taking part in the theatre group were involved in the preparation of various costumes for the children, which were used on the public concerts and events. The school team also ensured musical equipment for the dancing group of children. Some of the children, who showed interest towards a training seminar on computer literacy, were included in the group of the trainees. Other part of the children took part in excursion to a nearby cultural and historic centre within the Municipality, where these children have never been.
All interest groups within the school were provided with the necessary technical, material equipment and guidance on behalf of the teachers. The project used all possibilities to demonstrate the achievements and products of the children to various fests, events, concerts, exhibitions within the municipality. A great part of the activities were supported by representatives from the Bratya Miladinovi Community Centre in the village as partners in many of the initiatives or, as tutors of the interest groups.
The interest on behalf of the Roma children towards the school life and the educational process has been increased. The parents of the children have also been strongly involved in the project implementation. The project succeeded in keeping the children more into the school process and preventing around 25 Roma children from dropping out.
The Roma pupils had the chance to be part of various activities, according to their own interest. The self-confidence of the Roma children has grown.
The project team created favourable conditions for future activities with the children at school, using a successful model, through which both the interests of the children are developed, their leisure time is better organised and the effect on the Roma children could be reducing the number of children dropping out of school and keeping them actively into the school-life.
Contacts:
Lilyana Velkova
Village of Mikrevo
Municipality of Strumyani
Tel.: (07434) 3005
Otets Paisii High-School,
Village of Mikrevo, Municipality of Strumyani
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