NGO "The Association of Roma Women “Voice of Romni”

Our non-profit organization is established to promote their social integration and ensure equal opportunities for development. We believe that every person, regardless of their origin, has the right to a dignified life, safety, and the realization of their dreams. “Golos Romni” helps to make the voices of Roma women heard at the local, national, and international levels, to transform their communities and influence the future. We work in Ukraine amidst a challenging wartime period, when assistance to vulnerable groups has become even more critical. For over 2.5 years of full-scale war, our voices have been heard at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, at the annual United Nations Commission in New York, at the UN Forum on Minority Issues, at the Women Leaders Summit in Warsaw, at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Berlin, at a meeting of high-ranking officials in Brussels, at the Forum on External Feminist Policy in The Hague, at the Women’s Congress in Reykjavik, and at other important events in many countries worldwide. With the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, we realized that our community needed immediate support. Therefore, “Golos Romni” expanded its activities to provide humanitarian aid to Roma families affected by the war. We provide people with food packages, hygiene products, as well as work on restoring damaged housing and providing financial assistance to those who need it most. A separate area of our work is educational projects for Roma children and teenagers. We have created children’s spaces where children can learn and prepare for the National Multi-subject Test (NMT). Psychologists and speech therapists work with them to help overcome stressful situations and improve speech skills. In November 2024, based on these spaces, we launched youth spaces, as we strive to unite young people and provide them with a platform for learning, developing their talents, networking, and creating their own projects. One of our priority areas is combating gender-based violence (GBV) and supporting Roma women who face this problem: we train and support Roma women activists who advocate for the protection of their community’s rights. Their voices become a powerful tool for change, aimed at building a society free from discrimination and violence. At the same time, we operate safe spaces for women where they can receive psychological and legal assistance, undergo retraining courses, and become economically empowered. Our initiatives help women acquire new skills, start their own businesses, and achieve financial independence. This allows not only to improve the living standards of individual families but also to contribute to the economic development of the Roma community as a whole.