Creating opportunities and championing inclusion for Roma communities

The Roma community, Europe’s largest ethnic minority, faces many deep-rooted challenges. Many Roma people experience exclusion, discrimination and isolation from the societies in which they live. Poverty and unemployment remain widespread, and opportunities for economic advancement are limited, particularly for women and young people. These vulnerable circumstances also put some at risk of human trafficking, which is a pressing issue in Romania.

For many Roma, discrimination starts in childhood. From the very beginning of their education, Roma children often face social exclusion and are treated as outsiders, setting a pattern that can affect them throughout their lives. This early marginalisation has lasting consequences, limiting opportunities later in life and making it harder for people to flourish socially and economically.

Vocational training for women 

In a project that concluded last year, Dorcas empowered Roma women by providing them with vocational training, including sewing workshops. This enabled Roma women to gain the practical skills needed to generate income and achieve greater economic independence.

Ioana is one of the women who took part in this. Before joining, she and her family struggled to make ends meet. The mother of three could only afford to send her son to school, not her two daughters. Ioana learned about Dorcas through her son’s school. Thanks to the project, her daughters were able to attend school, and Ioana enrolled in vocational training, learning to sew. She is now a skilled seamstress. Ioana shares:

‘I am really grateful for everything the Dorcas project has done for my family. My children are receiving an education I never had and have a better chance of finding a job. I hope that other Roma adults, especially women, will have the chance to acquire the vocational and social skills they need to find employment and live a decent life. And I long for the day when all Roma are no longer viewed as outsiders but are instead valued members of the local communities in which they live.’ 

Looking ahead

Our approach in Romania is designed to improve the long-term situation of the Roma community. Building on previous projects within the community, our current initiative began on 1 March and focuses on advocacy and fundraising, while promoting inclusion and combatting human trafficking.

07 April 2026