Kindergarten in Kisdobrony, junior class

At the beginning of the new school year, we visited some of the kindergartens and schools for Roma children that are operated by the Reformed Church of the sub-Carpathian Ukraine.

At our first stop, in the village of Tiszaágtelek, we visited the kindergarten which operates out of its own building. The Presbyterian Church in Canada contributed financial support for this project in 2010. There are two groups of Roma children here, fifteen in senior kindergarten and fourteen in junior kindergarten. Each group should have a teacher and an assistant, but at present there are three assistants and only one teacher. In the afternoon, another teacher provides homework assistance for Roma children who attend the local school. At last count, there were sixteen pupils attending this program.

Kindergarten in Tiszaagtelek

Our next stop was only a few kilometers down the pot-holed road in the village of Kisdobrony. The kindergarten facilities here are attached to the back of the Roma community’s church. The PCC made a financial contribution to the construction costs of the addition two years ago. The senior kindergarten has ten pupils and the junior kindergarten has fourteen. There are teachers and assistants for each group. The afternoon homework assistance program has twenty-three pupils, from grades one to six.

Kindergarten in Nagydobrony north

From here we went another three kilometers to the town of Nagydobrony, stopping first at the large building which houses the kindergarten at one end. Here there are twenty-one children in the pre-school group and twenty-nine in the junior group. The staff is complete so things were operating according to expectations. We also visited the kindergarten for Roma children at the southern end of the village, where the children were out in the playground. The supervisor informed us that there were thirty-one children on the roll and attending as regularly as they could. The roof of the building here needs major repair but there are no funds to do this and only temporary patch-up jobs are possible.

Help-school in Nagydobrony

Our next stop was the help-school for Roma children at the centre of this same town. This year there was a significant increase in the number of pupils, with fifty-four on the roll. The staff was complete except for an assistant but there were already two candidates lined up for this job. There was a need to purchase two teacher’s desks, a toner cartridge for the photocopier and additional desks and chairs to accommodate the unexpectedly large number of children. The extra classroom at the back was needed this year, which meant that the corroded floor boards in that classroom would have to be removed and a new floor quickly installed. After a few telephone calls to a local contractor it was decided to have this done the following week. The overhead lighting fixtures needed to be repaired and a section of eaves-troughing needed to be installed. With these items checked off, the teaching could go forward.

Kindergarten in Peterfalva

Our final stop was at the newly-opened kindergarten for Roma children in Péterfalva, where the finishing touches had just been put on the building. Here the staff of two were ready and eager to teach the children but for the moment there were only eight. It often takes time before the parents of the Roma community get accustomed to the idea of a kindergarten operating specifically for their children. Surely there will be more pupils the next time we visit. Nadia Ayoub, a PCUSA missionary working with this Roma community is doing her best to direct the children to the kindergarten.

Kindergarten in Kisdobrony, senior class

It looks to be a very challenging year for the teachers in all of these institutions with the increase of pupils everywhere. Funding is also a challenge given that the economic situation in Ukraine has greatly deteriorated during the last six months. The value of the local currency has decreased by seventy-five percent in relation to the American dollar, the price of fuel has increased by ninety percent, and the inflation rate has increased significantly. There is a pervasive fear throughout the land that there will be severe restrictions on the amount of gas and electricity available to the general population in the coming months and afterwards as the winter eventually sets in.

Street Scene in Mezovari

For the moment, a long, mild autumn is being forecast and most people are hoping for a mild winter like the one last year. Their biggest hope, of course, is that the disruptions in the eastern part of the country will be resolved as rapidly as possible and that peace and some hope of economic survival will once more return. The teachers in the above-mentioned kindergartens lead their pupils in prayer for this on a daily basis, and the pastors also lead their congregations in supplication for this. Parliamentary elections are scheduled in the second half of October but with the country fractured and the candidates being the same as the ones who have led the nation to its present demise, the prospects for positive change are unquestionably slim. Yet, our hands and hearts remain clasped in prayer for there is little else that we can do on this level. We must concentrate on helping the kindergartens for Roma children be loyal to their calling and lead the little ones to the Lord.

Junior kindergarten in Nagydobrony south