New Community Center for the Roma in Topoľčany, Slovakia, Opens
Teaching children basic social skills and hygiene, helping them with their homework, and nurturing their talents; in addition, supporting mothers, offering social counseling, conferences, and cultural events for the broader community. These are just some of the activities at the new Saint Louis and Zélie Martin Community Center in Topoľčany, in the western part of central Slovakia. This is the latest project of the Order of Malta in the country.
“The Roma are the largest ethnic minority in Europe. Many of them face daily discrimination, making it difficult for them to complete primary school and then find work. The Order of Malta is currently running 24 programs across Europe to break this cycle of marginalization and poverty. Generally, the children are eager to learn and grateful for the opportunities the program provides,” said Franz Salm-Reifferscheidt, the Order of Malta’s ambassador for the Roma population. The main goal of the Order’s humanitarian organization in Slovakia is to operate a community center for socially disadvantaged groups, with a focus on the Roma community and their integration. In the town of Topoľčany – 100 kilometers northeast of the capital Bratislava – there are about 1,000 Roma residents. In the immediate vicinity of the community center, around 350 Roma live, half of whom are children.
“We want our children to have a place where they can spend their free time and pursue their hobbies. That’s why we were involved in rebuilding the center from the beginning,” explained Slavomír Langer, the head of the local Roma community. The center will be open daily from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will offer a wide range of social and educational programs, mainly aimed at children, mothers, and pregnant women. The staff and volunteers from the Order of Malta will also provide social counseling and organize cultural events and conferences for all the residents of Topoľčany.
“The core focus for us is not only the construction but above all the long-term functioning of the center. Our goal is to integrate the Roma and foster intercultural dialogue. We expect the center to be fully operational by 2024. It will then be available for other purposes, which will help us sustain its operation long-term,” explained Július Brichta, President of Malteser Aid Slovakia, the humanitarian organization of the Order of Malta in Slovakia.
The rebuilding of the structure a former abandoned sugar factory near the Roma settlement began in the autumn of 2021, thanks to the support of Salm-Reifferscheidt, the government of the Slovak Republic, and the Global Fund for Forgotten People. This is the second community center established by the Order in Slovakia. The inauguration on March 21 was attended not only by the Order’s ambassador for the Roma population but also by Ján Hero, the Slovak government’s representative for Roma communities, along with the president and vice-president of Malteser Aid Slovakia, Július Brichta and Rudolf Páleš. The center was blessed by Bishop Dušan Argaláš.
