News

REYN welcomes a new hosting organisation in Belgium

The International Step by Step Association hosted initiative, REYN, welcomes Caritas Vlaanderen vzw as a new national coordinator of REYN Belgium (Be- REYN). Starting in March this year, the hosting role has been transferred from the Centre for Innovation in the Early Years (VBJK) to Caritas.

On behalf of Roma and Traveller children, their families, and Roma ECD professionals, we would like to thank VBJK for their commitment and dedicated work to improve the situation of young Roma and Traveller children in Belgium (Flanders).

In partnership with other Belgian organizations, since 2019, REYN Belgium has focused on working with professionals (such as social workers, kindergarten teachers, and family support staff) to ensure that children have access to basic and quality services.

Achievements have been remarkable, such as the recent opening of Ouderklap, a play and meeting group for Roma and non-Roma families, the qualitative study on the situation of Roma children in Belgium (Flanders), or the conversion of a trailer park into a school for Roma Traveller children, among other.

As part of the REYN network, the contributions of VBJK as coordinator of BE-REYN to the network have also been very inspiring.

“Creating optimal development opportunities for children is something very important to VBJK, but certainly also to me personally. How do we ensure that Roma families and caravan dwellers have better access to quality basic services for young children?” – Liesbeth Lambert, VBJK, Be-REYN coordinator (2019- 2022). Read the full interview here.

It is with great excitement that we welcome Caritas Vlaanderen, an organization with a clear focus on poverty reduction and proven experience in its frontline work with the Roma and Traveller population in Belgium.

Caritas is not new to the work of REYN. VBJK and Caritas worked together on a project for the development of a Spelcaravan, a caravan with play and educational activities for children aged 3 to 16 who stay on three public transit sites in Flanders: Asse, Kortijk and Lille.

In addition, since 2020, Caritas has been running a temporary shelter project in Ghent for people from precarious mobile living conditions, as well as a reference address for travellers for about 300 caravan residents in Antwerp. In addition, Caritas also takes on the advocacy of Roma and Travellers to bring about structural change. Read the guide on the legal framework for travellers recently developed and published by Caritas.

REYN International thanks both VBJK and Caritas for the smooth transition during the transfer of the coordination role. We are very happy that the commitment and dedication to building a more inclusive society for children of Roma and Travellers families in Belgium remains.

To stay informed about the Be-REYN network’s plans, have a look here.

A dream to work with children became reality for a Roma woman

Growing up in one of the poorest regions in Bulgaria, it might seem that there are only a few directions one’s life could take. Marrying young, having children, staying in a small town, and being close to the family, is where life usually takes you. Moving away from this pattern is hard, and requires great support from one’s family, peers, teachers or from the community. This is a story of a young Roma woman, who grew up being told what her life would look like, but never gave up on her dreams, despite all difficulties she had to face.

For Radostina Kamenova from the town of Montana in Bulgaria, life did not look much different than that pre-set path. Since childhood, she would always dream about what life could be like.

©️ Photo: Raycho Chaprazov

“Being a schoolgirl, I dreamed of working with children. In my teenage years, I danced in the Roma folk ensemble “Sham” and imagined how my little students and I would sing together and learn the rhythms and how I would read them fairy tales”, she shares. “The tradition that exists among the Roma population sets the path for the girls to marry young and become mothers and housewives. This is also how my adult life started”.

After graduating from high school, getting married and having a child, Radostina never gave up on her dream of working with young children.

“At first, my husband and my family did not fully support me, as they thought I am not able to study at the university or work and continue with my duties as a mother, wife and housewife at the same time”, says young Roma woman.

Six years ago Radostina started working at a Family-Consultation Center in Montana. Seeing that work does not interfere with her day-to-day tasks, but mostly realizing how important education is for a person’s growth, Radostina’s husband and family encouraged her to apply to university.

“I admit that four years of university were not easy for me”, she shares. “I had to combine my studies with work and take care of children, but I never gave up on my dream, thanks to my family who supported me the whole time.”

Last year, the representative of a local NGO “Association Stars”, Orlin Orlinov told Radostina Kamenova about the REYN Internships, and that they are a great opportunity for young people from various fields of study. Having this possibility would mean completing an internship in a kindergarten to gain practical experience in the field.

With Orlin’s help, Radostina applied for the internship and got it. She participated in the Program in the summer of 2022 at the kindergarten “Sun” in Montana. Its principal, Natalia Tsvetanova, welcomed two additional interns simultaneously and shared that she was very happy with the opportunity to work with young, motivated people who were amazing role models for the children. In 2022 Radostina Kamenova graduated from the university with a Bachelor in Preschool Pedagogy in English degree and was hired by Ms Tsvetanova as an English teacher, after successfully completing the internship.


The REYN Internship program is an initiative of REYN Bulgaria, hosted by the Trust for Social Achievement Foundation. The program aims to give an opportunity to Roma university students from different fields of study to gain practical experience in working in kindergartens and working with disadvantaged children. The length of the internships is usually between 20 and 50 working days, and they are conducted as a triparty agreement between REYN Bulgaria, a local NGO that supports the interns locally, and a kindergarten that hosts the interns for the duration of the internship. 

One year of the war in Ukraine: REYN Ukraine’s work with children

Converting a child center into a shelter and serving the needs of internally displaced persons, this has been the main work of Transcarpathian Regional Charitable Foundation “Blaho” (the host organization of REYN in Ukraine), for the last year. Today, 24 February 2023, marking one year of war in Ukraine, we ask the head of Blaho, Eleonora Kulchar, how their work has changed and what are they doing differently now, after a year living under the war conditions.

Since February 2022, Blaho has worked to develop a Station of Hope by converting their early learning center for Roma children in Uzhhorod (in Western Ukraine) into a shelter. Many people fled from the east of Ukraine in search of a safe environment and found refuge at the Station of Hope, where Blaho builds community and creates a sense of normalcy for children and their families.

Photography: Michael Jessurun, Untold Stories 

“We provide support for Roma children and their families, as well as for non-Roma people, affected by war,” tells us Eleonora Kulchar. “Now there are about 80 internally displaced persons in the shelter, including about 20 children. In the shelter we can host 155 people maximum, and there were times when we reached that number.”

ISSA training on psychological aid

The shelter operated within the child center’s building until May 2022, and then, after the need for renovations, it was turned back into a learning center. Now two age groups of Roma children aged from two to six, and from six to 10 are getting ready for school through a preschool program at the center. In addition, the current war context has required Blaho to add a psychosocial support component to the services they provide both for the learning center and for the shelter.

“Before the war we provided educational and social assistance to Roma children, and now, in addition, we also have psychological support. We also work with children in the shelter as they continue their education with the teacher and get art therapy from a psychologists. If needed, all children from the shelter can have individual classes with the teacher,” says Eleonora Kulchar. “The training of trainers on psychological first aid and trauma-informed practices we at Blaho received from ISSA last year showed us practical steps on how to deal with stressful situations and how to help children. It was great that materials were translated into Ukrainian so that we could use them in our work the right away. Our psychologist and art-therapist use some parts of what we received from ISSA.”

Roma children before and during the war

During the last year, Blaho monitors of the situation of Roma children and families in Ukraine, analyzing their needs and conditions in the times of the war. They have recently complied a 70-page report covering eight Ukrainian regions. A similar study was conducted before the war, when the REYN Early Childhood Research was investigating the status and needs of young Roma children and their parents throughout Europe. The study on Ukraine can be found here. The report presenting findings during the war will soon be made available in English.

Photography: Michael Jessurun, Untold Stories 

“We can see that availability and inclusiveness of Early Childhood Development (ECD) services welcoming Roma children is very low,” says Blaho’s director. “We will present the results of the study conducted during the war during several round tables and invite representatives of the Ministry of Education so that they can also work with the results.”

Roma and non-Roma together

A shelter for internally displaced persons that Blaho runs is now located in a separate building. Renting it now, Eleonora Kulchar dreams they can soon buy the premises and ensure that people who stay there can receive proper, stable, and continuous assistance.

Photography: Michael Jessurun, Untold Stories 

The shelter provides complex support to the families that live there. People are receiving three meals per day and hygienic products for free. Teachers work with children, and psychologists provide support to those in need. Medical and legal support is also provided. Roma families live in the shelter together with non-Roma families, building up an inclusive community and adjusting to the needs of children together. A Station of Hope is a place that nurtures a sense of community and promotes diversity and inclusion, paving the road toward peace and unity.

The photos in this article show the Blaho center and are Courtesy of War Child


How to support young children and families in Ukraine

Since the first day of the war in Ukraine, the ISSA Network has mobilized to support young children and their families, both in Ukraine and in the countries receiving refugees. ISSA is a network of organizations dedicated to creating societies where families, communities, and professionals work together to empower each child to reach their unique potential and embrace values of social justice and equity.  

If you wish to support our Member Organizations who work to mitigate the consequences of the devastating war, you can donate here.

REYN: 10 years of keeping Roma children in the spotlight


On 9 December 2022, ISSA organised “ISSA Connects to Celebrate: 10 years of REYN“, a special event that provided an opportunity to learn from the 10 years of existence of ISSA’s REYN initiative, about its unique contribution to creating quality environments for young Roma children to develop, learn and thrive.

The program featured REYN’s Footprints: building blocks for long-term impact showcasing achievements and examples of good practices from different European countries and provided a platform for discussions about the status of young Roma children, highlighting existing challenges and responsive solutions.

During the two-hour session, relevant Roma and non-Roma experts and professionals, National REYNs and ECD professionals involved in REYN’s success—including those who spearheaded the initiative— explored potential avenues forward to provide young Roma children with equal and quality developmental opportunities.

Watch the recording of the online celebratory event

Celebrating 10 years of REYN

The Romani Early Years Network was established in 2012 as an initiative of ISSA in partnership and with financial support from the Roma ‘Kopaçi’ Initiatives at the Open Society Foundations (OSF) Early Childhood Programme, in response to the growing demand for professional development opportunities for practitioners working with young Roma and Traveller children. REYN aimed to address the issues informed by the Roma Early Childhood Inclusion studies and other reports, pinpointing a scarcity of Romani ECD professionals, pedagogues and paraprofessionals, a lack of adequate and culturally sensitive resources for those working in this area, and few mechanisms for professional development opportunities to support those working in early years settings with Romani families and their children.

Over the ten years of bringing together Roma and non-Roma professionals, Roma and pro-Roma civil society organizations, as well as engaging with relevant stakeholders, both at national and international levels, as an initiative, REYN grew and expanded its programmatic portfolio. 

Starting from building capacity at the country level for Roma professionals and enabling national REYNs to connect professionals at country levels around specific topics and actions, over the years, REYN became a platform for learning, sharing, knowledge creation, advocacy and joining efforts around specific actions and issues related to the status of young Roma children.    

Since 2012, REYN creates quality environments for young Roma children to develop, learn and thrive!

Celebrating the ten years of REYN is at the same time the celebration of ten years of visibility of the needs of young Roma children and their families and the iteration of REYN’s commitment to bringing the early childhood development of young Roma children into Roma discourse into the European policy agenda.  


Learn more about ISSA Connects

ISSA Connects for Ukraine event

Since the war in Ukraine started, ISSA Network’s efforts have provided timely and meaningful support to children and families affected by the war and in countries where they fled.

ISSA Connects for Ukraine is a special event where ISSA Members, including the Transcarpathian Regional Charitable Fund “Blaho” (REYN Ukraine), will share the challenges they face, as well as the solutions they are providing to support the children and families they work with throughout the devastating impacts of war.

Click here for more information and registration.


REYN’s next Horizons – Annual Meeting 2022 and launch of REYN Early Childhood Research

After two years of online meetings, REYN (the Romani Early Years Network) met again in person in Barcelona, Spain.

From Wednesday 19th to Friday 21st 2022, representatives from International and national REYN coming from 10 countries (Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Netherlands, and Ukraine) got together to engage in a joint reflection on REYN ’s achievements and challenges in the period of 2019-2022 and to shape the new strategic framework for the Initiative.

This meeting occasion also brought opportunities for celebrations, including the 10th Anniversary of the Initiative.

On Friday 21st at 10:30 CET, in partnership with the University of Barcelona, under its REYN Initiative, ISSA organized an event to launch infographics with country data from the REYN Early Childhood Research on the status of young Roma children in Europe. With financial support of the Open Society Foundations, the research was carried out in 11 countries reaching out to a diversity of stakeholders through the 11 national REYNs hosted by ISSA member organizations and partners.

The main findings of the research were presented by the Roma Studies Groups team (CEG) at CREA – University of Barcelona, who led the research. The full report is soon to be launched.

The launch was broadcasted live. Watch the recording below.

Read more about REYN Early Childhood Research Study and explore already available evidence on REYN Knowledge Hub

The situation of young Roma children in Europe – a new milestone in early childhood research

Although there is a concern for Roma inclusion at the European level, there is a significant knowledge gap about the status of children under the age of six, particularly the youngest. This lack of data impedes the development of responsive policies and programmes to revert their situation. 

To address this issue, Romani Early Years Network (REYN) Initiative is launching the REYN Early Childhood Research, a study that sheds light on young Roma children and their parents throughout Europe. The study brings together unprecedented Roma-related early childhood data from 11 countries. It catalyzes solid evidence for urgent and effective policies and programs enabling each young Roma to reach their full potential – to grow and thrive!  

REYN Early Childhood Research showcases a unique way of conducting research on Roma-related topics. The study, led by Roma researchers, involved Roma and non-Roma country researchers and early childhood experts gathering data in the 11 countries where National REYNs operate.   

The lack of evidence on young Roma children in Europe picturing their status and needs makes the REYN Early Childhood Research a unique piece of evidence reinforcing the importance of early years as well as influencing the agenda of prioritization and investment in young Roma children.  

REYN Early Childhood Research, carried out with the support of the Open Society Foundations, was initiated in 2021 and has been done in partnership with the Roma Studies Groups (CEG) at CREA – University of Barcelona. 

Covering five key areas that impact a child’s development such as health, hygiene and nutrition, safety and security as well as early learning and living environment, the study analyzes structural and emerging issues that might have widened during the COVID-19 crisis, leading to an increase of inequality and social exclusion. 

Country data is already available (see inofgrpahics below) and the final report of the study will be launched soon and disseminated via our social media channels (Facebook and Twitter) and REYN newsletter. Stay tuned and subscribe today! 

Photo: Courtesy of Tomáš Rafa


REYN EARLY CHILDHOOD RESEARCH |
COUNTRY DATA



The condition of Roma and Sinti early childhood in Italy

The position of Roma and Sinti communities in Italy is a direct consequence of various migratory flows that have affected the country from the 15th century to the early 2000s.[1] As a result of these flows, it is possible to identify 22 communities of  Roma and Sinti populations.

As it is impossible to carry out censuses on an ethnic basis in Italy, there are no concrete numbers about the members of the different groups. According to the Council of Europe, the number of Roma and Sinti living in Italy could be between 110,000 and 170,000.[2] However, only a small proportion of them live in a condition of hypervisibility because they reside in formal camps —settlements designed, built and managed by local authorities according to ethnic criteria — and informal settlements.

Formal and informal settlements

The latest report presented last November 4th in the Senate by Associazione 21 Luglio states that 11,300 people live in the 109 formal camps on national soil — half of them hailing from former Yugoslavia. Of these, some have Italian citizenship and others have Romanian citizenship.[3] There are also 6,500 people, with Romanian or Bulgarian citizenship, living in informal settlements.

Without precise data relating to those Roma and Sinti people who have ostensibly integrated into Italian society (who live in conventional homes, do not wear traditional clothing, speak fluent Italian, and send their children to school), the only studies and analyses about the condition of Roma and Sinti early childhood in Italy refer to the 15% of Roma and Sinti living in mono-ethnic settlements — in conditions of extreme segregation, exclusion, physical and relational isolation. As a result, this group cannot be considered representative of the majority.

“The Campland”

Since 2000, Italy has been referred to by the European Roma Rights Center as “The Campland” because it has used by far the most economic and human resources to maintain ethnic-based housing arrangements of any country in Europe.[4] The daily realities of life in these formal and informal settlements makes the promotion of actions that affect childcare particularly complex. The absence of electricity and drinking water, air pollution, living inside a caravan or container, the absence of safe spaces for play, economic precariousness, real and perceived exclusion, distance from the school, are all elements that hinder the healthy growth and development of a child from birth.

In such residential contexts the social elevator remains stuck. From birth, the fate of Roma and Sinti children is influenced and guided by these harsh statistics. According to a study conducted in 2016 by Associazione 21 Luglio, the life of a child born within a mono-ethnic settlement immediately appears to be an “obstacle race”.[5]

For example:

  •  A Roma child who lives in a formal or informal settlement in the city of Rome is 30-40% more likely to be estranged from their family and declared adoptable that a non-Roma child.
  • The practice of early marriage has strong physical, intellectual, psychological and emotional repercussions among the adolescents involved;
  • Children, known as “white orphans” — who are left behind in Romania when their parents emigrate to Italy in search of jobs and resources that will help give their children a better future — experience strong repercussions on nutrition, sanitation and psycho-physical development in the absence of a maternal care giver.
  • In 2015 in Italy, an average of 40 children, aged between 0 and 3, led a life as “prisoners” in jail with their mothers. The majority of these were of Roma origin.

From the limited data available, it appears that children in “Roma camps”[6] have a shorter life expectancy and higher infant mortality than the reference populations. They are born underweight more often than other children and suffer from respiratory diseases in greater numbers than their non-Roma peers. Moreover, these children  are often affected by poisoning, burns and domestic accidents. Discomfort or degradation diseases or “diseases of poverty” are increasing — such as tuberculosis, scabies, pediculosis, as well as viral, fungal, and venereal infections, which occur with ever greater frequency than in the past[7].

Associazione 21 Luglio has developed a full website to present the state of affairs of the camps in Italy. Navigate throughout Il Paesi dei Campi (The Campland).

How is REYN Italy responding to these challenges?

The work of REYN Italy and other organizations in this network has been pivotal in promoting equal rights for Roma children over the past few years. However, COVID-19 has had a significant impact on the cohesion, sense of belonging and functionality of the Italian network. It is, therefore, necessary to reinforce and rebuild the REYN Italy which, in turn, will have a significant impact on the lives of Roma children living in Italy.

That’s why we plan to:

  • build cohesion and participation inside the REYN Italy network while increasing the number of its members. REYN Italy aims at revitalizing, reinforcing and broadening its membership, and engaging institutions such as municipalities, schools, health and family counselling centers.
  • advocate for access to inclusive, quality and non-discriminatory early childhood development for Roma children. In the Italian context, these objectives are crucial in continuing to promote and facilitate the social change that we are seeing in regards to Roma settlements with knock-on effects on their standards of living, and the protection of the rights of Roma children.

In order to support the rights and lives of Roma children, REYN Italy activities will highlight among decision-makers the need to guarantee, protect and promote the rights of Roma children.


[1] The Sinti are to be found primarily in the German-speaking regions (Germany, Switzerland, Austria) where they settled in the 15th century, and in Benelux and Sweden. There is a southern sub-branch of the Sinti in northern Italy (Piemont, Lombardy) and in southeastern France (Provence), whose language comprises a partly Italian-based vocabulary. In France, they are also called Manush. Sinti/Manush represent 2 to 3% of the total Roma population (generic sense) in Europe.

[2]   http://www.coe.int/t/dg3/romatravellers/default_en.asp.

[3]   Associazione 21 luglio, L’esclusione nel tempo del Covid, Roma, 2021.

[4]   ERRC, “Campland”, Budapest, 2000. http://www.errc.org/uploads/upload_en/file/00/0F/m0000000F.pdf

[5]   Associazione 21 luglio, Uscire per sognare, 2016.

[6] Some Roma in Italy live in a state of separation from mainstream Italian society. These Roma live segregated on ethnic basis in some areas, excluded and ignored, in filthy and squalid conditions, without basic infrastructure. They “squat” abandoned buildings or set up camps along the road or in open spaces with tents, caravans or shacks. They can be evicted at any moment, their settlements are often called “illegal” or “unauthorised”. Other Roma live in “camps” or squalid ghettos that are “authorised and provided with caravans or prefebricated buildings”. The smaller camps, home to only fifteen to thirty people, are generally unauthorised. Authorised camps tend to comprise at least one hundred people.

[7]UNAR, Strategia Nazionale per l’Inclusione dei Rom sinti e caminanti, Roma, 2012.