Tim za socijalno uključivanje i smanjenje siromaštva

Author: GRUBB Foundation (Social Inclusion Blog)

It all started in Niš in 2006. The idea to improve education of Roma started to be realized first at an educational level and, not long after that, at a creative level too. Additional classes for all school subjects as well as creative workshops where energy was at first aimed at dance and music and then at other arts too, came across a great interest of Roma children. As a result, the GRUBB (Gypsy Roma Urban Balkan Beats) Foundation soon opened the centre in Belgrade and then the centre in Novi Sad.

Serbian and English teachers, mathematics, biology, physics, music teachers in GRUBB centres, every day with great dedication and a lot of love, help young Roma deal with school work in the easiest and most successful possible way and when they overcome an obstacle successfully, their mutual joy becomes additional motivation to study even more, to make their success even greater. Children feel when they are welcome somewhere, when atmosphere is warm and friendly, thus they easily relax and without pressure and with a lot of good will do even less favourable assignments. (…)

We learn together, we create, we are happy for success and improvement in all fields, we share life, we discover its secrets and we try for our school children to grow up in the best possible version of themselves. We choose education and art as a road that leads to integration and the safer and brighter future.

GRUBB centres encourage young Roma to be proud of themselves, their tradition and cultural heritage. That is how music and dance workshops enabled them to tell a unique story on their life, customs, on their every-day struggle for existension and combat against prejudice they face on every step, through the combination of traditional Roma and modern hip-hop music. The power of talent and emotion their songs and music carry was recognized by the great Canadian director Serge Denoncourt. He directed the musicle GRUBB SHOW that thrilled the world. He made a true musical spectacle which is a result of the exceptional combination of the talent of young Roma who wrote music and songs at musical workshops in GRUBB centres as well as experience of great names from the world of performing art who selflessly shared their knowledge with them.Their successful appeareances in London, Montreal, New York, then great tours in Canada and the Netherlands, confirmed that art could speak about things many would like to remain silent. (…)

In GRUBB centres for three years already Roma also have had an opportunity to hone their writing talent at creative writing workshops. (…) The stories were collected and published. The first circle of workshops was crowned by the collection of stories GRUBB STORIES I and the second one resulted in GRUBB STORIES II. That is how the first and unique collections of stories written by young Roma in the world became. Both books are illustrated with photographs which are also a result of photography workshops under the auspices of GRUBB Foundation. (…)

The story of GRUBB is not a story of struggle against prejudices. The story as such can encourage thinking, introspection, but in order to change something really it is necessary to work – devotedly, with a lot of love, understanding, sincere wish and faith in those children who have a right to use their potentials in the best possible way. They carry a burden of prejudice and we are here to ease that burden for them and help them, in spite of that, to walk upright through their life, educated, accomplished and successful.

The text in its entirety can be found on the Social Inclusion Blog.