a little history

I thought I would tell you a little bit about the Roma (or we often know them as Gypsy) people, because they make up many of the Veritas programs. For example, most of the teens in the program are Roma.

Roma actually migrated many years ago (like 1,000 or something) from India. As you may know, India has the caste system; the Indians that migrated were the lowest. They went to many different parts of Europe, and probably some other places.

In Romania there are (obviously) the Romanian people. There are also Hungarians and Germans. My host mom is German, but she has lived in this area her whole life. And, finally, there are the Roma people. There are probably more ethnicity's here, but those are the ones off the top of my head.

The Roma people here, and in many other areas, are the poorest. In Sighisoara, at one point the Roma were moved to the outskirts of town, where they made their own little communities. Many of the houses are one room and scrunched together next to other homes. Many do not have running water and may be a family of six squished into one room.

Veritas serves the Roma people by providing clothing for the families, and also trying to help with other needs. For the teen program we had a day that the teens were able to go through a bunch of bags to pick out clothing for themselves and their families. In the program the kids are educated about different things. For example, Shari and I will be presenting for five weeks and we are choosing to present on bullying, drugs, smoking, alcohol, sex education, relationships, and a few other things.

I don't know if this is proven, but Charlie Chaplin may have been part Roma. His Grandmother I think prided herself on this fact. Also, Yul Brynner who played in "The King and I", "The Ten Commandments", and "The Magnificent Seven" was part Roma. To quote Wikipedia, "He was also a Romani on his mother's side, and in 1977, he was named Honorary President of the International Romani Union, an office that he kept until his death.

Also, one more little fact. I am not working in an orphanage. I think my Dad keeps telling people that I am, but I am not. 

If you have any questions, you can ask, otherwise you can research more about the Romani people. It is very fascinating!