The project funded by the VELUX Foundations “Shaping Academic and Employment Skills for Young Roma – SHAPYR” aims to increase the number of Roma graduating from vocational secondary education and successfully transitioning into the labor market, fully self-confident and equipped with soft-technical skills. The project, which started in 2018 and will be running for four academic years in Hungary, Romania and Slovakia, incorporates young adults employment component through the Roma Job Centers and Intensive Mentoring Programs.
Mentoring Program
In Romania, the project is carried out at “Cezar Nicolau” Technical High School from Brănești, Ilfov county, where 42 Roma youth benefits from an intensive mentoring program alongside the mentors Alexandru Zamfir and Luiza Medeleanu.
“When I think of mentoring I like the comparison with the process found in Botany, when a young plant borrows the beneficial properties of an older plant, by joining the two through a specific process, for the young plant to grow harmoniously and to increase its qualities, but also to become more vigorous, stronger, more resilient and more able to respond to the challenges of the environment in which it grows, develops. And I like the comparison all the more when I find out that the young plant does not copy the properties of the mature plant, but takes them over, analyzes them and then integrates them into its own structure, into its own individualized configuration through specific features. The same thing happens in the Mentoring program, the young person takes over from his mentor a series of qualities, values, principles, but also abilities, skills, practical abilities, which he integrates in his own personality, “absorbs” and transforms them in benefits for its development through its own process of “photosynthesis”. The mentored person thus remains himself or herself, but in a form with increased abilities, skills and abilities, which he did not copy from his Mentor, but also discovered and activated from his own potential. And what a wonderful thing it is when it happens before our eyes in the surrounding nature and in human nature!” -Alexandru Zamfir
As part of the mentoring program, the two experts are addressing topics related to Roma culture, history and Roma identity. They also invite special guests during their meetings with the teens.
“We talked about the sad history of the Roma, with the Holocaust and slavery being the main events addressed. We have also talked about discrimination, how it manifests itself and how we react to such behaviour when we encounter it. We watched the short film “The Truths of Ioana – 10 years of fighting slavery”, made by the National Roma Culture Center. The film tells the story of a Roma slave who fights a fierce legal battle for her freedom and that of her children. Towards the end, we learned some common expressions in the Romani language and I emphasized the importance of knowing and studying the Romani language both in the family and at school “- Alexandru Zamfir.
Gina Enache, a clinical psychologist, was one of the guests of the mentoring program. She talked to the teenagers about the importance of healthy relationships with those around them, be they friends, colleagues, family.
Ioanida Costache – a doctor of ethnomusicology at Stanford University in California and co-author of the children’s book “The Horse’s Head Ring” – was also invited to the mentoring program. Ioanida spoke about her professional and personal journey but also about the connection between the cultural identity of people and the music. During the workshop, the students learned about what it means to really listen. She used a game whose main task was for them to listen to each other. At the end of the meeting, Ioanida presented short fragments of old traditional ethnic Roma music.
Ioanida Costache
“When I started the activities with the students from Brănești, I felt them as a challenge, as it was very difficult for me to connect with them and listen to each other. I remember that after one of the first meetings with the students, I left very disappointed with myself and my inability to be really helpful to those students who really needed me and the activities together so much. But along the way, we learned step by step to listen to each other, to share with each other pleasant and less pleasant experiences that we had over time, and we made memories together. I understood that their need was not to receive as much information as possible on various topics, but to feel that someone was focusing on their emotions, listening to them and understanding their fears. I believe that at this moment, we are together on a path of personal development and self-knowledge. We are at a much higher level of mutual trust and for me that matters the most. And for them, by the way” – Luiza Medeleanu.
On February 20, Romanian Roma citizens are celebrating the Day of the Liberation of the Roma people from Slavery. During the mentoring activity, the history professor PhD Negoi Ioan Valentin was invited. He spoke about the meaning of that day, about today’s effects of the 500 years of slavery on the self-image of the Roma people, but also about the image of the Roma people in the collective mind. At the end of the discussion, the students concluded that slavery did not completely disappear from Romanian society, but only took on a different form.
On Valentine’s Day, students participated in the “Friendship Lottery”, an interactive game that highlights the willingness to give and share with others the joy, the time and the positive energy, but also their own chocolate or cookie pack. The activity ended with a discussion about how the students felt about giving and receiving something, as well as what they give to friends, family, classmates or teachers. The conclusion of the meeting was that friendship must be celebrated every day!
The singer Nico G. together with her colleagues Marian & Genosu sang and danced to rap rhythms for our young students. Nico G. is a young artist from the Ferentari neighborhood (Bucharest) and her songs contain profound feminist and anti-racist messages.
Roma Job Center
The Job Center activities aim at matching job seekers with employers for training, internships or employment opportunities and providing job placement opportunities. The event “Workshop in the kitchen” was part of this project. During the activity, chef Liviu Pavel prepared fine dining for the students and told them about his career, about how he ended up from a professional football player to a chef. Liviu also spoke about the qualities that a chef should have and explained several culinary techniques that any young person who wants to become a chef should know. Liviu Pavel is executive chef at one of the best rated restaurants in Bucharest.
Louis Dumitru Ciucure aka Louis The Bartender held the “World of non-alcoholic cocktail” workshop. The students were introduced to the world of bar mixology. He explained the basics of this trade in a friendly way. Louis began his work activity on a construction site and ended up becoming an award-winning car mechanic. But, he listen to his his calling and, in the end, he became a mixologist bartender. During the meeting, the students interacted with the guest, through guided involvement in non-alcoholic mixes, as well as through the question and answer session at the end of the workshop.
The motivational speaker Adrian Niculescu was also a special guest. He spoke about how important it is to build your future having a job that you really like and that defines you as an individual. Adrian really liked his job as a hair stylist, so after many years of work, he opened his own business, a barber shop. Then he even opened a Hairstyling Academy. Moreover, Adrian spoke about the positive and negative effect of Social Media.
“This program has helped us reduce school dropouts by 90%. And I can say this with all my heart. The students, all the students who were involved in this project, were much more serious, they felt the support of REF and also ours. They don’t want to leave school for a job, as they did in previous years. They want to continue their education. Everyone has a dream, everyone wants something more and they know exactly what they want to do: mentoring, tutoring. In addition, they were financially supported when they needed it “- Marinela Culea, the Cezar Nicolau High School principal.
