"All parents have the right to support of society in their parental role!”
The workshops "Growing Up Together Plus" recognized on a national level and are part of the National action plan within EU Child Guarantee program
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The series of workshops Growing Up Together Plus in 7 Roma settlements which were developed as part of the pilot program "Phase III: Testing the Guarantee for every child in Croatia" financed by the European Union has been successfully completed.
The results of the evaluation of the work during workshops Growing Up Together Plus in 7 groups within 7 Roma settlements showed that participation in the workshops is associated with changes in the relationship with the children, in the relationship with the partner and in one's own perception of oneself in the parental role.
“It was important for us to evaluate the results of the Growing Up Together Plus program. This is a common practice in the development of a new program because we want to ensure that the program is effective, that it responds to needs and that the approach ensures the involvement of parents and work on desirable changes”, Nina Pećnik, president of the Board of the Center for Parenting Support Growing Up Together explains.
“Moms who come out of the program actually play with their children more often, read picture books to them, praise them and are satifised with the results of the program. Also, they were happy with what they heard from the presenters and from other moms, they rated comics and support for change highly, and it was also useful for them that the children could go to workshops for children. In short - what they heard from the presenters and other moms, they gave it the highest possible marks”, Pećnik emphasizes.
“The novelty within EU Child Guarantee is that we have developed a program for parents of the Roma national minority, in cooperation with our partner Center for Parenting Support Growing Up Together. We are proud that the workshops are recognized at the national level, so the National Action Plan for the EU Child Guarantee includes this program, and we believe that other communities, along with Medjimurje County, will start this program so that parents can receive support in their most important role. We are particularly proud that the program is the result of the joint work of the academic community, practitioners in the field, Roma cultural mediators - Growing Up Together activists, parents and children, and that the implementation is supported at the national, regional and local level," said Martina Štabi, Child protection specialist, UNICEF Office for Croatia.
Center for Social Welfare Čakovec, Family Center Branch, is one of the implementing partners in the EU Child Guarantee program, and the role of their experts is the implementation of the Growing Up Together Plus workshops.
“In total, 7 cycles of workshops were held, in 7 Roma settlements, which was a very big challenge for us, because structured workshops were held with parents, but at the same time with their children. I think that this kind of program is welcome. I would also like to thank UNICEF and the Center for Parenting Support Growing Up Together for recognizing Medjimurje County as the one with a really large number of destitute and socially excluded citizens. The benefits of this program in working with Roma families are great, precisely because we entered Roma settlements, since they are socially isolated and coming to Čakovec represents a very big problem for them. The parents we included in the program were really motivated, they came to us regularly because the cycle lasts 4 months, which is a huge thing and makes me very happy. I am proud of the parents that they managed to set aside time every week and work on strengthening their parenting skills and of course - that they included their children, because we know that a large number of Roma children are not included in preschool education”, Lidija Vinković, director of the Family Center Branch of the Center for Social Welfare Čakovec proudly pointed out.
“The development of a new program for Roma parents was initiated because each group of parents has specific interests and needs, and so we concluded that this population requires a different approach than some other groups of parents. All parents have the right to support from society in their parental role”, explains Eleonora Glavina, member of the Board of the Center for Parenting Support Growing Up Together.
In addition to the workshop leaders, "Growing Up Together" activists, members of the Roma national minority have also been included in the implementation of the program. They help parents and children and actively participate in workshops - both for parents and for children.
Also, the School of Animated Film was included in the workshops, so the materials are much more picturesque, easier to follow and more suitable for the population they are intended for.
“I supported the parents through all these workshops. I was always with them and as far as I could see, the parents were very happy with it, they even told me that they learned a lot and that it is now easier for them to deal with the children. The moms are very happy and they told me that it would be good if the workshops could be repeated because they are really important to them. I speak on behalf of mothers who are very grateful for these workshops”, says Krešo Balog, "Growing Up Together" activist, who is also a Roma minority assistant at school.
Nataša Oršuš, another "Growing Up Together" activists and Roma minority assistant agrees with him: “My role in the workshops was to cooperate with the parents, to inform them when the workshops were held, to make sure that they responded in as many as possible. As part of the project, I also led workshops, and I believe that this helped the parents because I could explain to them what it was all about. They were very happy and pleased and it helped them a lot.”
“When we talk about the children of the Roma national minority, the key question about children's rights is not how far we have come, but where to start. The Convention on the Rights of the Child teaches us that all rights are equally important, but when we talk about Roma children, all research shows how vulnerable they are and how difficult their position is. Everything is equally important, but we need to start from the family as the most important environment for a child and develop additional support programs, and then, of course, continue with quality education and the development of other social services. We need to strengthen families and Roma communities so that children can develop their full potential”, stresses Maja Kutnjak Vrtarić, member of the author's team of the program Growing Up Together Plus.
"Međimurje County participated as a partner of UNICEF in EU Child Guarantee pilot program, and I also participated in the working group that created the national plan and program of the EU Child Guarantee in Croatia. I always point out that this project has brought Medjimurje County and the Roma community the best thing that has happened in the last ten or fifteen years. This is why the Medjimurje County supports it, because until now it has never happened before - that we have a multidisciplinary team where everyone is interested and gathered to improve living conditions, education and housing. Until now, we have done all this partially, but now UNICEF has brought us all together, and we thank UNICEF for that, the value of that is immeasurable”, Sonja Tošić Grlač, Head of the Administrative Department for Health and Social Care of Međimurje County, emphasized the importance of cooperation on the pilot program.
“When we talk about the equality of Roma women, it is important to know that it is a two-way process that requires a lot of work in the Roma community, as well as in the majority community. The EU Child Guarantee program contributes in many ways to the equality of Roma women because these are the first steps in providing them with support and strengthening their capacities as mothers and pillars of the family, and then of the community”, Maja Odrčić Mikulić, Head of the Administrative Department for Civil Society and Human Rights of Međimurje County pointed out.
“The cycle of workshops in 7 Roma settlements has ended, the parents' questions were numerous because the word spread around the settlement that the workshops were very well organized and well run, and we have many questions from parents about when we will come again. I am sure that with the opening of the Play Hubs, the implementation of the program will be continuous and that every interested parent, including those recognized and referred by Center for Social Welfare, will be able to attend the workshops”, concluded Lidija Vinković.
With the main goal of reducing child poverty and social exclusion for all children throughout the European Union, the European Commission, in partnership with UNICEF, is implementing the pilot program "Phase III: Testing the Guarantee for Every Child" in Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Germany, Italy, Lithuania and Spain.
Croatia was given the opportunity to pilot the EU Child Guarantee in cooperation with the European Commission and UNICEF to work on solving child poverty and social exclusion. To develop a model of new services and best practices for children and their families, UNICEF will use its experience, partnerships, and capacities to model integrated multidisciplinary, adequately funded family and community services in Međimurje County, a region with limited access to child protection and family support services. UNICEF's approach includes three components: access to child protection and family support services, access to preschool education and access to early childhood intervention services.
© UNICEF, 2022 “The information and views set out in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the European Union. Neither the European Union institutions and bodies nor any person acting on their behalf may be held responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained therein.”
