Romani student Gabriela Janičová: My dream is to become a teacher

Gabriela Janičová is a young student from the Josefov quarter of the town of Jaroměř, Czech Republic. She is studying at the Evangelical and Social Academy in Náchod and thanks to her excellent results there she has been granted a scholarship from the program for Romani high school and technical high school students provided by the organization ROMEA, o.p.s.

After completing secondary school, Janičová says she would like to continue her studies in Prague. She spends her free time doing temporary work so she can contribute to the family budget.

After the death of her grandfather, who was the head of her family, they fell on difficult times. “We had no money, sometimes we went hungry,” she said in an interview with moderators on the TV Barrandov station.

Despite the fact that her family lives on a low income, her mother has done her best to support Janičová in her studies in every way. One of the young Romani student’s dreams is to become sufficiently educated to become a teacher herself.

Thanks to support from the Czech Albatros Foundation, the Danish VELUX Foundations, and individual donors from the Romani community, ROMEA was able to provide scholarships to 60 students attending high schools and technical high schools for the 2016/17 school year. In addition to the scholarship, the program offers students the opportunity to access other educational courses, to participate in intensive weekend meetings with other Romani scholarship recipients, and to access tutoring.