Did you know that 44% of Roma children ages 7-11 and 65% of children ages 12-16 are currently not going to school?
Did you know that the Roma people have their origins in India? It is unclear when and why they began to migrate.
Did you know that the 10 countries with the highest Roma populations are Turkey, Romania, Russia, Bulgaria, Spain, Hungary, Serbia, Slovakia, France and Greece?
Did you know that beginning in the 14th century and continuing for over 500 years, the Roma people were slaves in areas of Eastern Europe? They were used for agricultural labor and treated as property.
Did you know that the Roma people lack access to government services and health care, good-quality housing and schools, and suffer from high rates of unemployment and discrimination on the labor market?
These statements are all true.
When I went to Romania and began learning about the Roma people there was so much about them that I didn't know and didn't understand. I learned some about the people I was serving while I was in Romania, but since I've been back, I've been doing a lot of searching. Oddly enough, there is not a lot of solid information. It is clear though that the Roma people seem to be kept in a cycle of poverty.
After meeting so many precious children in Romania, it's tough to sit back and see that cycle continue without doing anything to change it. The children that grow up in Roma communities do not deserve the low expectations set before them just because they are Roma. No child, no human should be discriminated against because of their culture. They had no option to choose Roma or any other culture. It is who they are. As in any country, the first step towards change and success for these children is to get an education. Another Child Foundation is doing great things in Tarnaveni to step in the gap for Roma children in that community by offering many children just that-- an education. For us to bring change to anything, there has to be an awareness of what is going on. Check out the sources listed below and do your own research to learn more about the Roma people and their plight.
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