News

October 3, 2011 was not just an ordinary school day for ‘Vasil Levski’ primary school in the village of Karadzhovo, Plovdiv district. There were two reasons about this singularity: The first one was that exactly there at this school at 11 am started children traveling exhibition ‘My dream for the Roma people and for Bulgaria today’. This is an exhibition of children essays and paintings intended to visit more than 90 schools in the country. Each of these schools is participating in the project ‘Prevention of Roma children drop out of school’ funded by ‘America for Bulgaria’ Foundation. The idea that provoked such an initiative is based on our belief that in many cases children are wiser than adults and children’s voice is often forgotten. 

In a ‘turbulent’ time like ours nowadays, we decided to ask students (regardless of their ethnicity) what they dream about, what they seek and how they see the place of the Roma community in Bulgaria in the future. This kind of ‘Ship of Children’s Dreams’ each week will reach a new school and each new school is going to put on a blank canvas its message. We decided that if we can gather enough essays, not only in Bulgarian but also in Rromanes, Turkish, English etc. we could make an international traveling exhibition. This is how children from the nearby Balkan countries we’ll also be able to participate in it and to dream together for a BETTER WORLD!

The opening of the exhibition was attended by representatives of Amalipe: Deyan Kolev, Mariya Balkandzhieva and Tsveta Antonova, the major of the village of Karadzhovo, the French journalist Anne Dastakin and representative of the municipality of Sadovo – Mrs.  Eli Stoyanova. But what we need to underline is that the exhibition was attended by plenty of children! Each of them presented their work to the public, holding in hands wishes and essays.

Everyone knows that child’s dreams, pure and unadulterated can best paint the words we, the adults often use but less empathy and believe in such the word ‘tolerance’, ‘together’, ‘friendship’, ‘can’, ‘love’ and many more. However when we hear a 3-grade child talking about that he wants all his friends to remain united and to love each other no matter that they have different names (ethnic origin): Hasan, Manush and Petar it seems that there is a ‘light in the tunnel’ (hope) and not everything is a political game or deeply hidden hatred wrapped in stereotypes and prejudices. We should be really glad that this is the future of Bulgaria and exactly they – the children teach us in unity.

The second reason this day to be a special one was the fact that only 2 km far away from the turbulent village of Katunitsa (The distance between Karadzhovo and Katunitsa is only 2 km) we saw how Roma, Turkish and Bulgarian children live and learn TOGETHER!

Here’s what a Roma-mather said: ‘I don’t know and I can not understand why they separate us like this. In our village we all live in peace and understand each other. I am a mother of a 7-grader daughter, everything else does not matter’.

And here is the wish of Zhivka Angelova, Roma, 3-grader:

My dream is

To change the world

And everything to be fine again

To have fun with my friends

And to play more funny games

Let’s wish ‘Good luck’ to these pupils and we don’t have to forget to thank the entire teacher’s team of ‘Vasil Levski’ primary school, Karadzhovo leaded by Krasimira Blagoeva, about their warm welcoming and great job!

The traveling exhibition is going to finish in June 2012 reaching the 9^th Roma Children Festival ‘Open Heart’ in Veliko Tarnovo where the best essays are going to be awarded. There are predicted also three schools made the most creative and positive wishes during the exhibition.