"The Others" Camp
Donation protected
Through my camp, "The Others" I was eager to introduce this energizing sport to girls who haven't had the opportunity to learn it. The camp would have taken place in Ruzica, Bosnia from August 3rd-7th 2020, where 10 teenage Roma girls will learn to play basketball. I planned to teach them basic basketball rules, skills and drills as well as fun games and scrimmages.
HOWEVER...
A lot has changed since my plan to organize a summer basketball camp. Covid-19 has restricted me from traveling to Ruzica this August, so the summer camp has been cancelled. However, I want to repurpose the money I have raised. Covid 19 has revealed a much deeper issue that Roma people are facing. The Bosnian Constitution recognizes only 3 groups of people as constituent citizens: Serb-Orthodox, Croat-Catholics and Bosniac-Muslims. Everyone else, including Jews, multi-faith, and Roma people, are "The Others" and have lesser rights as citizens of this country. Roma people are especially ostracized as an ethnic group. They are often discriminated against in the most inhumane ways. Coming from a multi-faith family, as a proud "Other", inspired by the equality that the US Constitution provides, I feel obliged to end the cycle of discrimination of other "Others". Inadequate access to healthcare, inability of my peers to continue their education, or their parents’ ability to provide for their families due to sheltering in place, are just some of the issues that Roma people in Bosnia are increasingly facing as a result of this global pandemic. For the Roma kids, schools are a single source of social networking outside of their community. For Roma girls specifically, schools are a source of stability and safety, a place of hope and aspiration.
Therefore, I have decided to shift my focus towards immediately helping solve one of the most essential issues for this marginalized group of people - education. I would like to ask you to stay on board with me as I plan to build a small library in the village of Ruzica. Your generous donations will help buy books, technology and software and shelves to help run this library. The building where the library will be is already under construction, and is expected to be finished in the next month. The idea is to create a space and give access to reading and the internet. My goal is to finish the library by the beginning of the next school year in September. I have much bigger dreams and plans with them, but this is the beginning!
HOWEVER...
A lot has changed since my plan to organize a summer basketball camp. Covid-19 has restricted me from traveling to Ruzica this August, so the summer camp has been cancelled. However, I want to repurpose the money I have raised. Covid 19 has revealed a much deeper issue that Roma people are facing. The Bosnian Constitution recognizes only 3 groups of people as constituent citizens: Serb-Orthodox, Croat-Catholics and Bosniac-Muslims. Everyone else, including Jews, multi-faith, and Roma people, are "The Others" and have lesser rights as citizens of this country. Roma people are especially ostracized as an ethnic group. They are often discriminated against in the most inhumane ways. Coming from a multi-faith family, as a proud "Other", inspired by the equality that the US Constitution provides, I feel obliged to end the cycle of discrimination of other "Others". Inadequate access to healthcare, inability of my peers to continue their education, or their parents’ ability to provide for their families due to sheltering in place, are just some of the issues that Roma people in Bosnia are increasingly facing as a result of this global pandemic. For the Roma kids, schools are a single source of social networking outside of their community. For Roma girls specifically, schools are a source of stability and safety, a place of hope and aspiration.
Therefore, I have decided to shift my focus towards immediately helping solve one of the most essential issues for this marginalized group of people - education. I would like to ask you to stay on board with me as I plan to build a small library in the village of Ruzica. Your generous donations will help buy books, technology and software and shelves to help run this library. The building where the library will be is already under construction, and is expected to be finished in the next month. The idea is to create a space and give access to reading and the internet. My goal is to finish the library by the beginning of the next school year in September. I have much bigger dreams and plans with them, but this is the beginning!
Organizer and beneficiary
Stella Neuschul
Organizer
Larkspur, CA
Vedrana Pinjo
Beneficiary