SLOVAKIA´S NEW GENERATION

Realized in 2014 and 2015, this Project focused on pre-school preparation of children from four marginalized Roma communities (Košice – Šaca, Moldava nad Bodvou, Rankovce and Veľká Ida). The aim of the Project was to prepare children for kindergarten enrollment so that they were able to enter the system of formal education as soon as possible. In some localities, we experienced problems with the placement of Roma children in kindergartens that are predominantly attended by non-Roma children. These problems were partly caused by low capacities of kindergartens. To resolve the issue required a lot of our efforts, as well as willingness on the side of the schools´ management, which, in some cases, was absent. The problem arose despite the fact that the Project offered financial contributions to kindergartens for the placement of Roma children. Considering the support from families in segregated settlements is often uncertain, the situation became more difficult for the Community Centres, which in many cases were the only places preparing the pre-school-aged children for school enrollment.