Scholarships for Roma children in Skopje

About This Project

Project Background

In recent years, many projects have been developed to promote the education of Roma. A quick scan of implemented projects in the field of Roma education shows that most of the projects for the improvement of Roma education are focused on pre-school and primary education. The only non-governmental organization which in this period has been implementing projects for the improvement of Roma education in secondary schools has been Caritas National Section Skopje in partnership with Centre for Social Initiatives “Nadez“. In the period 1999/2003, 60 students received four years scholarships. In order to provide greater access to secondary education for the Roma, the Centre for Social Initiatives “Nadez“ continued to work in this field.

Project summary

The project consists of two programs:

• Providing scholarships

This program will provide basic school necessities for all children. At the beginning of each school year, all scholars will get school books and a package of school materials. In addition, the expenses for meals and bus tickets for four years will be covered.

• Meetings with parents and collaboration with school representatives

Aim of this activity is to encourage and motivate parents to pay more attention to results, school attendance and the behavior of their children in school. They will share their experiences, needs and problems with each other and together with the teachers will try to find ways to solve these problems.

Results

All scholars successfully finished secondary education. Two girls have continued their education at the University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Skopje. Two girls got married and are taking care about their new families. Other children registered in the Agency for Employment in order to find a job. Through this project the young people who have completed secondary education have increased their opportunity for finding employment as opposed to the ones with completed primary education. Beside the children, parents were also involved in the project. They took part in workshops for raising awareness of the importance of education. These parents motivated other children in their families to continue their education on higher level.