Erasing the stigma, one child at a time

The IWitness ambassadors landed in Romania yesterday! First stop, the Save the Children Centre for Emotional Education in Bucharest to learn about the Raising Children in a Stigma Free Society project funded by the IKEA Foundation, the Roma people and the programme locations we’ll be visiting.

One of Europe’s most discriminated-against groups, the Roma people live in rural areas, without running water, and four out of five Roma children stop attending school by age seven.

The Save the Children Summer Kindergarten programme (part of the raising Children in a Stigma Free Society project) provides the early socialisation and introduction to education that is key to keeping Roma children in school. Over the last five years, the programme has reached over 600 children of whom 80% have continued through primary school.

One classroom at a time, Save the Children and the IKEA Foundation are helping Roma children receive the education they need to be successful and accepted in European society.