The REF’s partner in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Roma Support Center Romalen Kakanj, learned many personal stories while working with Roma children in pre-school and primary school age. Among the most heart-warming one is that of Farisa, a joyful little girl, living in Varda, Kakanj.
Farisa is an ordinary Roma girl with extraordinary dreams. She is a disabled – and REF obtained no permission from her caregivers to publish her photo. The Roma girl loves coloring books and does drawings “which no one could understand”, as a community worker puts it. One day, when grown up, she is aware of who she would like to become – a teacher, working with disabled children.
The girl belongs to a family, living in destitute poverty and having no proper conditions to serve her disability. The parents are unemployed, surviving. The team in charge of enumerating all Roma children in the respective community, persistently persuaded Farisa’s father and mother to let her try to receive education. Despite of the fact that her parents have ever had any clue of sending her to school, Farisa is now attending kindergarten, regularly visiting the Toy Library, making new friends, playing with her peers and enjoying every service which the project team provides for her.
This project “Increasing access and participation of Roma children in quality early childhood education and primary education”, funded by REF and the EU Regional Action for Roma, strives for expanding children’s school readiness in the municipality of Visoko, Bosnia and Herzegovina, through building a network of mediators, toy librarians, teachers, community workers, volunteers, parents.
Toy Libraries world-wide are specific in offering an innovative approach in learning, parenting and pre-school education. At present, there are 80 young clients and 50 parents attending the Toy Library in Kakanj, as well as 50 children and 40 parents registered at in the Toy Library in Visoko.
Disclaimer: The photos are kindly delivered by Romalen-Kakanj (toy libraries in Visoko and Kakanj).
