Bratislava (Slovakia). The Daughters of Mary Help of Christians of Mary Help of Christians Community of Bratislava, of St. John Bosco Province (SLK), are carrying out a project of promotion, education, and inclusion of young people of the European Roma ethnic group. The project is aimed at an educational structure outside the neighborhood where their families live, who wish to collaborate with the Salesian Sisters to encourage the autonomous inclusion of their daughters in society.
“Roma girls have personal motivations and above all the desire to study and grow humanly, but their opportunities are almost nil, if they are neglected and spend their whole life in the Roma neighborhood. At the same time, we want our structure to be open to young people from non-Roma backgrounds. The students who have been active as animators in the Salesian works will support the work of the School. We believe in the mutual enrichment of people and cultures,” explains the Project Coordinator, Sister Zuzana Saloňová.
Currently, the FMA have begun this work with Maria Romero College, in rented premises. They therefore started a fundraising project to buy a more suitable house.
“This project is a drop in the ocean, but we hope that these young girls will become a bridge between the Roma ethnic group and the Slovak social reality. They will be a positive example that will show that others too can have hope and a chance; that the Roma and Slovak peoples can live in friendship. If we all want to live in dignity in Slovakia, we must try to integrate – by providing education and work – at least for a part of the Roma population. If we do not succeed together, costs and conflicts will increase,” adds Sister Zuzana Saloňová.
In a video on their YouTube Channel – with subtitles in Italian, English, French, Spanish, German, Japanese – the FMA of Province SLK extend the invitation to study this reality and to support the project, using the information at the bottom of the video description.
