A meal for a schoolchild from a Roma community in Macedonia

Macedonia's largest Roma settlement, Šutka, is located on the outskirts of the capital Skopje. Dilapidated houses are crowded together with makeshift barracks. When it rains, the streets turn into muddy tracks. Several thousand children and young people live here with their families under difficult conditions. Many children cannot go to school due to financial and social problems. Without a primary school qualification, training and later entry into working life are almost impossible. In Macedonia, without a primary school qualification, you also have no right to state support such as social welfare and health insurance. This is a major problem for many Roma; up to 90% of this population group are unemployed. Discrimination by the majority society makes it difficult for the youngest children in particular to master school. This is where our partner organization "Nadez" comes in: The employees accompany numerous children from Šutka and their families on their educational path from the first day of school to the end of primary school after the 8th grade. In order to create the conditions for children to attend school on a permanent basis, humanitarian aid is regularly distributed to the families, a daily breakfast is prepared for the children, books and other school materials are distributed, and homework help is offered. In addition, workshops are held for parents to explain how important school attendance is for their children.