October 7th | Supporting the Mental Well-being of Young Roma Children

CHAVORE’s international event brought together practitioners, researchers, trainers and NGO colleagues from across Europe and beyond to talk about something that rarely gets its own spotlight: the mental well-being of Roma children from birth to age six. 

CHAVORE, which means “children” in Romani, is a European Commission-funded project coordinated with ISSA and its Romani Early Years Network (REYN). It brings together partners in Slovenia, Slovakia, Croatia, Hungary and Kosovo. Before building anything, those partners spent time listening to Roma families, practitioners and children. What they heard became training for educators, workshops for families, activity cards and well-being boxes, which were then piloted in kindergartens, schools and communities. This event was the moment to step back together and ask what those pilots are teaching us. 

Mihaela Ionescu, ISSA’s Program Director, opened the afternoon by welcoming people into the conversation from the start. She asked everyone for one word that comes to mind when they think about young children’s mental well-being. “Support” and “safety” filled the word cloud, and so did “depressed.” Hope and concern, side by side, setting the tone for an open discussion. 

Eunice Lumsden, Head of Early Years, University of Northampton, UK, began by explaining why mental well-being belongs at the heart of quality early childhood practice, not at its edges. She took participants into the first 1,000 days of life, when everyday relationships and interactions shape how a child’s brain develops. She spoke about giving parents knowledge and safe spaces to connect with one another. She was also clear that racism and discrimination have to be part of any conversation about children’s mental health. Aljoša Rudaš, Programme Manager, ICDI, then brought a Roma perspective and evidence from the REYN Early Childhood Research Study. The study shows how deeply structural barriers shape Roma children’s early years, from exclusion from the labour market and unequal access to early childhood services to persistent discrimination. It shows just as clearly the strength and protective power of Roma families and communities, a foundation that services too often overlook rather than build on. 

The conversation then turned to the people working on the ground throughout the project: Dr. Jerneja Jager (Educational Research Institute, Slovenia), Erika Szabóová (Škola dokorán – Wide Open School, Slovakia), Marina Matešić (Open Academy Step by Step, Croatia), Ivett Kovács (Partners Hungary Foundation, Hungary) and Sofija Toska (Kosovo Education Center, Kosovo). 

The conversation began with a candid view of where things stood before CHAVORE. Across very different contexts, the picture was strikingly similar. Practitioners cared deeply and were attentive to children’s emotional needs, but they often worked alone and in fragmented ways. They did not have a shared language for mental well-being and few practical tools to act on what they noticed. Each country also had its own challenges. In Slovakia, many children grow up speaking Romani at home while services operate mainly in Slovak, and building trust between services and families takes time. In Croatia, early childhood education is not mandatory and Roma children’s access to it remains limited, while many families live in settlements shaped by long-standing exclusion. That helped explain why practitioners there were so eager to learn about psychological first aid and trauma-informed approaches. In Hungary and Kosovo, educators recognised children’s emotional needs but had not had the training or resources to respond to them. 

As the panel moved on to what has changed, the conversation came alive with examples from everyday practice. In Hungary, practitioners have begun to look at behaviour differently. A child who struggles every morning is no longer seen simply as “not settling in,” but as a child with an emotional need that deserves attention. As a result, children are coping better with separation and reaching out more to their peers, and parents are increasingly confident partners in that process. In Kosovo, the combination of educator training, parent meetings and well-being boxes that go home with children has opened up new space for educators and parents to talk about feelings together. Educators are more attuned, and families and educators are building that conversation side by side. In Slovakia, well-being has moved from an afterthought to something built into the day. Parents and children are taking part in shaping it. In Croatia, kindergartens and schools alike are weaving well-being into their daily routines, each in its own way. From Slovenia, Jerneja described how scattered efforts are coming together into a shared approach. She stressed that lasting change depends on caring for children’s emotions while also giving the adults around them space to reflect on their own responses. 

By the end of the panel, one idea had come up again and again: co-creation. CHAVORE works because practitioners, parents and children help shape it, and the partners agreed this must continue. They also spoke about involving fathers more directly, keeping well-being part of everyday practice rather than a separate activity, and sustaining the work through communities of practice that will outlast the project’s funding. 

The event closed by looking ahead. Partners shared how they will carry CHAVORE’s learning forward. In Slovakia, Erika will bring the project’s findings and resources to the Committee for Children and Youth under the Ministry of Labour, reaching ministries, NGOs and other stakeholders. In Slovenia, Jerneja and colleagues will share the resources more widely, with the aim of making mental well-being part of everyday early childhood practice. Across all five countries, partners committed to building communities of practice so the work continues beyond the life of the project. 

CHAVORE continues with national events in each partner country and a free, self-paced online course. You can find the many downloadable resources, the event recording, and other news articles at chavore.reyn.eu.