Final week: thoughts

I did much research for grant opportunities.  I concentrated on linking Slovo with NGOs or grant opportunities in the USA.  I also did research to create a day –schedule for a Romani youth camp.  I contacted some Lehigh people and from them I obtained a list of ice breakers, activities, reflection points for minority youth who are struggling to appreciate their own culture.  I also was lucky enough to tutor a young Romani woman in English. I am able to understand a bit of what the issue of social exclusion is and have realized that it’s the fault of the system and not of the people. 

Week 6: observations

This is the final week, how did this happen so quickly? It's time to speed things up and to get our video, presentation, and poster done. It's time to fit in final dinners, final outings with friends and final smiles to share with others. This is it, this is the week to make a difference in someone's life and plant a seed of hope and laughter. 

Just a couple of observations I do not want to leave behind...

-even after people get off the metro and head towards the escalators, there's still organization in lining up single file on the right side of the escalator and leaving enough room for others to pass on the left. Maybe this reminds me of cars on a highway but with people, which makes me more impressed of the anti-disorder behavior present here.

-there is such thing as 'Prague water' on some restaurant menus and they charge one dollar for it, and no free refills. This is essentially water from the tap that I could get for free if I went to the bathroom and filled a cup myself...silly. 

-it's apparently rare for Czech people to start talking randomly to others even after being on a train together for 2+ hrs... Well this is also unique to me because I am more than glad to start a conversation with others! especially if I don't know them. 

-food is real here. Since there are many restrictions on food requirements, many chemically-treated ingredients are against the law here and therefore, a potential healthier diet. I got to try a delicious broccoli soup at a baguette place and I realized how much I miss fresh ingredients that I used to get when I was growing up in Colombia. 

-dogs are often not on leashes and are so obedient to their owner and simply follow them.

-beer is cheaper than water, and it is accepted to be carried around just like water is transported in the U.S.

I enjoyed my experience here and I am sure I will have a lot to share once I am back at Lehigh. See you soon! 

Week 5: Reflection

Week five started a bit difficult in assigning duties for what we need to accomplish for our project. We must work on the video we want to do, the final presentation for the American Center next Friday and the final group poster for Lehigh. Little by little we are getting each piece of the project done and I am looking forward to the final outcome. 

So far my experience in the Czech Republic has been a cycle of valleys and mountains. There are times when I feel angry for witnessing racism against someone that I truly care about and the simple reason is because they are Roma. I have been happy when I see that the few that do know Christ are those that are Roma and a very few non-Roma. It's inspiring for me to see that even after being discriminated and excluded from the rest of society, many Roma are still strong in the faith and their children are even inspired to draw crosses representing Jesus.

It has been definitely a hard journey for me as a Christian, especially here in Prague where probably only one in one-hundred people is a Christian, and the same goes with non-smokers (hard to find non-smokers). Regardless of the lack of faith, I have discovered that I am meant to inspire others, by my personally and service, to learn about Him and how He can make someone smile even after difficult situations in life. I hope to continue to grow in my faith and discover the best path for me. For now, I will continue to smile and impact others with His love that reflects on others.

Week 4, day 1 of project planning

Day one of brainstorming ideas of what we want our final project to be didn't go too bad. Of course, spending four hours to come to a simple agreement was quite long but it feels good to know that we have something to get started on. We came to conclude that a 2-5min video would be good to show that Roma can be successful and/or that Roma as humans just like non-Roma and that there shouldn't be a difference on the way they are treated. Kevin offered up the idea of interviewing some Roma people and non-Roma that would be willing to talk to us about their stories and their hopes for the future. In order for people to not make an assumption about them right away, we decided that we would show the interviewer during the interview then at the end show the interviewee. This would allow the viewer to hear what they have to say (whether Roma or not) without making judgements at seeing the color of the skin.

I think this is a cool idea but I wonder how much of an impact it is really going to make to viewers. I kind of wish we would do a "meet a Roma" short documentary that would help non-Roma "meet" a Roma person in a comfortable atmosphere that they are willing to hear without being concerned that they might steal something. Perhaps a video like this will allow for a more intimate conversation that will help non-Roma understand a bit of what is like being a Roma. In order to make it a true conversation, contact information could be shared on ways of contacting the Roma on the documentary and begin to build a "penpal-type" of relationship. I hope tomorrow we can work out more details of the video and a plan of action, until then, I will pounder on methods to get our "social inclusion" point across to non-Roma here in Czech Republic.

Third week from Estefania: ups, downs, and the unknown

This second week and the last week of working with the NGOs I realized that my creative program proposal was not as “new” as I thought it was going to be. Lidia at Slovo 21 informed me that a similar program had already been submitted for a grant proposal but it was denied funding. These news disappointed me since I put a lot of thought on my idea. Regardless, I began to research other ideas that were not as complex as my first one and decided on things like a cooking competition for Roma women, soccer matches that would include girls, and field days that included learning while playing. After reviewing my second draft of ideas, Lidia suggested that these were of smaller scale that could be integrated into bigger programs and that on their own, were not complex enough to apply for the grants that I had found on the previous week. I was satisfied enough that at least my ideas could be used eventually for a bigger program, but I was still disappointed that I did not have a specific program that I could begin to write a grant proposal for. Regardless, I wanted to help with something else until the last day arrived, so I asked for more work. To my surprise, I began a bigger project: to design a four-day schedule for a summer camp for Roma youth, with activities for the morning, afternoon and evening. I took on the two-day challenge of doing something I had no experience ever doing before. I immediately reached out to an expert in this matter, I contacted Tyrone at Lehigh who gave me helpful advice on methods of approaching minority youth and motivating them to be proud of their heritage while still being a leader in the community. I was thankful to receive a quick reply from him along with a pdf file of empowerment activities for youth. I began designing the first two days, then I began to question whether the youth would like it or not. This process of questioning and worrying made my creativity take longer to unfold but it certainly showed that I actually cared about the young Roma having a good experience and coming out of the camp proud to be Roma.

Looking forward to our group project, I feel that the attitudes non-Roma have against Roma are certainly hard to change. In knowing that Roma are seen as “black” and unwelcomed, makes it much harder to take away labels that society has already established. Our project will need creativity if we are aiming to impact attitudes, but maybe we can plant a small seed on people's mind into wanting social inclusion of Roma. I'm looking forward into discovering what we want to do as our project, until then, I am happy to be in Prague, my new home.

Jelena, the director at Šlovo 21. 

Six Week Itinerary

6 week itinerary

WEEK ONE
6/23 arrival, settling into hostel, purchasing phones or SIM cards
6/24 orientation at hostel (safety, language, navigation, money, food); lunch at Bagaterie Blvd to practice      new skills; historical tour with Marie Homerova
6/25 visit to Nymburk, excluded community
6/26 assessment planning; lunch at Bohemian Bagel in Mala Strana; meeting at American Center
6/27 orientation to socio-political context at hostel; pizza & Scavenger Hunt
6/28 Terezin concentration camp with Marie Homerova & Jana S from American Center
6/29 Prague Castle tour with Hana K from Nymburk; picnic in the rain

WEEK TWO
6/30 work on blogs at Polska apartment; lunch at Pho's Viet Namese; begin work at NGOs
7/1   Alphonse Mucha Museum & Obecni Dum; lunch at Bea's Vegetarian Dhaba; work at NGOs
7/2   Museum of Communism & memorials to victims of Communism; lunch at Kavarna Muzeum; work at NGOs
7/3   DOX Gallery (Exhibits:  Front Line; Martin Rajnis, architect); lunch at Mexican restaurant; work at NGOs
7/4   Independence Day celebration - visit to Lennon Wall, Charles Bridge; lunch at Hard Rock Cafe; work at NGOs

WEEK THREE - Christy in Romania
7/7 cultural activity in the morning; work at NGOs in the afternoon
7/8 readings on social inclusion strategies; work at NGOs in the afternoon
7/9 cultural activity in the morning; work at NGOs in the afternoon
7/10 readings on attitude change; work at NGOs in the afternoon
7/11 cultural activity in the morning; finish up work at NGOs in the afternoon

WEEK FOUR
7/14 evaluate NGO experience & mid-internship self assessment at Polska; begin collaborative work on creative project; picnic lunch at Riegrovy Sady, with view of Prague Castle
7/15 research activities on own; collaboration on creative project at Inclusio
7/16 Estefania & Hana to Slovo21 to tutor Romani youth in English; collaboration at Inclusio
7/17 visit Jewish cemetery & synagogues; lunch at Mistral Cafe; finish first project idea
7/18 all day trip to Brno to visit the Museum of Roma Culture
7/19-7/20 interns camp with Lucie & other volunteers

WEEK FIVE
7/21 tutoring at SLOVO21 (Estefania & Hana), collaboration on project at Inclusio (finished infographic)
7/22 pick up equipment from Romea (Kevin); visit Jarmila Balážová (spokesperson for Czech government Ministry of Human Rights); dinner with Dr Mohamed El-Aasser (VP of International Affairs, Lehigh)
7/23 tutoring at SLOVO21, interview of Romani college students (Estefania is our film expert); visit UN Center (tour & work on project)
7/24 work on project (Maren is our organizer); visit to Radio (hear broadcast, see how it operates)
7/25-7/26 overnight trip to children's camp where we will organize field day activities (thanks to Claire & Alyssa)

WEEK SIX
7/28 finish translations and editing for short video, work on presentation and poster at hostel
7/29 last work day to complete projects and prepare presentation at hostel
7/30 practice presentation at Inclusio
7/31 present at American Center, celebration at Malostranské Beseda
8/1  final evaluations at Kavarna Slavia, last cultural visit to Vyšehrad