02.08.2014Medical students made screening of the health status in Asparuhovo, Nikolaevo and Gorna Oriahovica
The fieldwork of the future doctors and medical workers was always a part of the advocacy training and aims to give them an opportunity to become familiar with the health problems in the communities in which they worked on field. This year the fieldwork was held in 3 of the quarters where Roma live: ‘Asparuhovo’, Varna; the Roma neighborhood in the city of Nikolaevo, Stara Zagora and in First Aid – Gorna Oriahovica. Separated into 3 groups, there the students had their fieldwork and different basic health and medical interventions.
In Varna, the activities were organized together with the Directorate ‘Healthcare’ of the municipality of Varna, in Nikolaevo – with the partners of Amalipe from many years – Association ‘World without Borders’ – Stara Zagora and ‘Roma Health’ Foundation – Sliven. The partnership with the head of First Aid in Gorna Oriahovica – Dr. Mariana Kirilova – lead to this initiative – more practical study for the students in an emergency centre in which big part of the patients are Roma.
The health status of the people living in the most stricken streets from the floods in ‘Asparuhovo’ quarter has seriously worsened. Over 60% of the people have high blood pressure and higher blood sugar than normal. At hand are symptoms of a hypertonic disease. This showed the screening made by the students in the ‘Pink Valley’ and ‘Dolna Studena’. The local citizens made a good reception of the students and told their personal stories for the scary days in the end of June when they lost their relatives, property and life until then.
The students also visited the school in the prison. There they talked to the sentenced for their plans and the cost of the education. The meeting impressed everyone who took part in it. ‘We have to talk to this kind of Roma people’ was the laconic comment of I. S. who will be free in only one month.
Pictures from ‘Asparuhovo’ quarter see on https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.798668020163639&type=1
In Nikolaevo, the students walked through ‘the neighborhood of the Blond Angel’ as is one of the poorest quarters called – the one in Nikolaevo. Along with the partners from ‘World without Borders’ Association (Stara Zagora) and ‘Roma Health’ Association (Sliven), the students researched the health status and the hygiene conditions in the neighborhood.
Pictures from the city of Nikolaevo see on https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.798658946831213&type=1
The practice in First Aid – Gorna Oriahovica was also interesting. Separated into 3 shifts, the students watched the dynamics of the work for 24 hours. ‘There is a real lack of doctors and in the pic hours, the pressure is absolutely enormous’ summarized Manuela, a medicine student in Pleven.
Pictures from First Aid – Gorna Oriahovica see here
After the fieldwork, on the 1st August at 10 am, the students gave press conferences in the 3 regional cities – Veliko Tarnovo, Varna and Stara Zagora in which they presented the Roma Health Scholarship Programme, shared their impressions and observations from the fieldwork and how will it help them realize their future professional plans.
In the same time, other part of the students had an unusual experience in the fieldwork by participating in an international initiative in the concentration camp Auschwitz, Poland. On the 2nd August the less popular Roma Holocaust is honored and this year is marked the 70th anniversary of it. Although Bulgaria is one of the little countries which save all their Roma and Jews, we showed commitment with the pain of others who have not had the same faith. Around 1000 youngsters from all over Europe participated in the initiative in Krakow. The students from the Roma Health Scholarship Programme and from YTFGs from Centre ‘Amalipe’ were the bulgarian presence there.
The presentation of the bulgarian Roma group impressed the participants in the forum: they showed flash-mob and forum-theatre on their activity. The Head of ‘Roma Coordination’ in European Commission personally congratulated them on the activity of Centre ‘Amalipe’ in Bulgaria and wished them to be the new face of the Roma community, to help the other youngsters to overcome their stereotypes towards Roma and to exist many other medicine people from Roma origin.
The summer advocacy camp is organized by Centre for Interethnic Dialog and Tolerance ‘Amalipe’ on the Roma Health Scholarship Programme. Until this year, the programme was financed by the ‘Open Community’ Institute – Budapest and the Roma Educational Fund and was coordinated by the ‘Open Community’ Institute – Sofia. In the next 2 years, it will be financed by the Ministry of Healthcare through the Norwegian Finance Mechanism in Bulgaria as it will expand and grip 130 people.
