ADRA Europe | International Roma Day | 8 April 2025

Toni is a teenager from a Roma settlement in Serbia. He’s the oldest of six children. His parents, who never had the chance to finish primary school, have spent their lives collecting and selling recyclables to get by.

With no quiet space to study, no desk of his own, and the constant pressure to help support the family, Toni’s path to education was anything but easy. But he had one goal that never left his mind: stay in school, and show his younger siblings that a different future is possible.

That’s where ADRA Serbia stepped in.

As part of our project to support education and better living conditions for Roma families, our team met Toni during outreach visits in his neighbourhood. His potential was clear — he just needed the right support. Toni started coming to the ADRA Community Centre, where he found a safe space, encouragement, and daily classes in maths and Serbian to help him prepare for his final exams.

As the ADRA Serbia team shared:

“Through intensive work and participation at the ADRA Community Centre, we encouraged and further motivated Toni in his decision to enrol in high school. He attended mathematics and Serbian language classes every day to prepare as best as he could for his final exams. While working with Toni and his parents presented its challenges, we ultimately achieved our shared goal: to help Toni overcome his difficult circumstances and set out on a path to success.”

Toni is now in high school — an incredible achievement not just for him, but for his family and community. And yet, we know his story isn’t unique. Across Europe, Roma children continue to face barriers to accessing quality education. Discrimination, both structural and social, often keeps them on the margins.

As Marija Pejčinović Burić, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, recently noted:

“Educational establishments can be a source of antigypsyism, for example when Roma and Travellers face segregation in schools… We must embrace diversity so that every life is celebrated with dignity. This is what human rights are for.”

At ADRA Europe, we’re committed to supporting children like Toni and families like his — because education should be a right, not a privilege. And on International Roma Day, we’re reminded that behind every student who makes it through, there’s a team, a community, and a belief that change is possible.

Story and picture credit: ADRA Serbia