During 15.-19.7.2013 project managers along with Phoebe Sun, who is supported by GlaxoSmithKline in her several months stay in Association, and with representative of GSK Paul Van Hoff, visited 9 Roma settlements in municipalities of Poprad, Spišská Nová Ves, Prešov, Kežmarok and Michalovce and they attended four coordination meetings.
In the visited localities, they familiarized themselves with the work of medical assistants, they met with several mayors of municipalities, who told them their experience and opinions on solution of problems of people in settlements, and they also spoke to inhabitants of settlements about their everyday life. Phoebe Sun´s work in ACEC involves project Together for better health, and in August she is going to visit other countries participating in this iniciative: Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria, where she will obtain information about the efforts of institutions in these countries to improve health of Roma poeple in excluded localities.
During interviews and visits our guests were confronted with the fact, that problems of inhabitants of settlements are not only in health, but also in education, employment, housing, participation in political life and so on. However, they took a lot of positive impressions from friendly and welcoming attitude of our hosts. Issues in settlements differ, depending on the job opportunities, schol quality, access to drinking water, housing options and of course on the will of autonomy to cooperate and help their citizens in need.
Experiences and new knowledge gained from these localities, opened new horizons for all of us in efforts to find possible solutions and changes, which will significantly improve quality of life of inhabitants from excluded localities.
For more information about work trip visit blog Phoebe Sun.
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