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On January 14th students from Vasil Levski Primary School of Karadjovo village and St. Kliment Ohridski Primary School of Tishevitza village visited the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Labor. The initiative was organized by Center Amalipe in regard to the traditional calendar feast Vasilitza (St. Basil’s Day) well-known as the Roma New Year in Bulgaria.
Dressed in colored Roma and Bulgarian costumes the children entered Ministry of Education. With traditional Roma and Bulgarian sayings for St. Basil’s Day (called “survakane”) they wished Minister Sergey Ignatov and Deputy Ministers Svetlana Lomeva and Milka Kodjabashieva health and success. Traditional sayings received also the Chief secretary of the Ministry Krasimir Valchev: the students wished him a lot of money for all Bulgarian schools.
The students from Karadjovo presented interesting program composed of Roma, Bulgarian and Turkish folklore. And although the dozens of journalist cameras, the children kept the scenario and wished Minister Ignatov to keep the doors of the Ministry permanently open for Roma kids during the entire new year. The students of Tishevitza prepared a St. Basil’s Day table and sanctified it with Roma magic words. They gave to the Minister, Deputy Ministers and all guests traditional “Gipsy banitza” (cake) and bread. Minister Ignatov gave them presents and wished all children persistence on the way of knowledge. He invited them to visit the Ministry again to show their successes.

With raised spirit and a lot of emotions, the children visited also the Ministry of Labor and social policy. They were welcomed there by Totyu Mladenov, Minister of Labor, Hristina Mitreva, Deputy-Minister and Milen Milanov, National Coordinator of the Decade of Roma Inclusion. The children wished the ministers health and success with a lot of funny sayings: “You, as a social minister, do not forget our Roma brothers!” – one of the girls was saying in Romani language incensing the table. “I would not forget – the Minister replied. - But you should also remind me!”
Beside the sayings and the funny moments, the organizers conveyed messages connected not only with the holidays but with the everydays, as well. The school principal of Karadzhovo school Krasimira Blagoeva pointed that children from three villages and three ethnic groups (Bulgarians, Roma and Turks) have been educated in her school. “It is very important, she underlined, to raise the motivation of these children for studying, as well as the quality of the school process. We do this through the Roma folklore and culture program initiated by Center Amalipe and a lot of extra-curriculum activities.” It is a problem however that the delegated school budget is not enough. There are also administrative difficulties and delayed payments within the Human Resources Development Operational Program. “Please, ease the procedures and it would create real practical opportunity for the schools to apply; the successes would not come late.” – the teacher appealed.
The school principal of Tishevitsa – Dimitar Kostov has pointed that his school gathers children from five villages; 85% of these children are Roma. All children have after school activities, lunch and different extracurricular activities: Roma folklore and culture classes and three Interest clubs. As a result there are no drop-outs in the school and the school holds one of the first places for high school grades. In addition, many of the children graduating the school continue their secondary education. “This has been achieved as a result of serious investments Vratsa Municipality has made in the school. – Dimitar Kostov, school principal underlined. – We are an exception: usually no one invests in village schools so the quality of education is much lower there.”
Deyan Kolev, Chairman of Center Amalipe pointed in his welcoming words to the two ministers that the educational integration of Roma children meets serious problems such as increasing drop-out rate, problems with the functioning of the schools in the so-called village regions, lack of financing for the implementation of the Strategy for educational integration and so on. Dozens of schools, municipalities and NGOs implement successful integration models; support their efforts and create mechanisms to turn these models into a national policy, Deyan Kolev appealed. He reminded the old Roma legend about St. Basil who repaired the bridge and helped Roma pass it to enter purified into the New Year. He wished all who were present never to stop building the bridges to each other.
The two celebrations ended with the words: “Bahtalo amaro Vasili! Bahtalo Nevo Bresh!”