EduBox

EduBox is a tutoring center in Lozorno village in Slovakia. The project is unique because it connects two worlds which appear to be different on the outside and which would have probably not interacted normally – the world of Roma students from mostly poorer socio-economical background and the one of privileged students from a private high school. EduBox creates a safe space where these two worlds can co-exist on daily basis. Students from C.S. Lewis High School tutor and mentor Roma students from Lozorno village, which helps both groups to grow in tolerance, understanding and openness.

EduBox tackles educational inequality through community intervention between Roma and non-Roma communities in Slovakia. Only 51% of Roma children continue their education into secondary school. This has a negative impact on their life and future opportunities. EduBox also tackles racism and xenophobia towards the Roma minority.

EduBox founded a tutoring centre to bring together Roma youth from Lozorno and high school students from Bratislava. We offer tutoring, extracurricular activities, and prepare young children for kindergarten. We build trust through building relationships with Roma communities.

We work with children from the Roma community in Lozorno and students from C.S. Lewis Bilingual High School in Bratislava. The students from the high school tutor and mentor Roma kids and organize activities. EduBox volunteers also include teachers and community members of the Roma community in Lozorno. The municipality of Lozorno also provides financial support to maintain the community learning centre.

The shared safe space between Roma children and young student volunteers is the project’s strength and innovation. Since EduBox was founded in 2017, we had more than 60 student volunteers, and the number of participants from both communities has increased.

EduBox is low-cost and easily scalable. It can be easily implemented in other parts of Slovakia. The project is successful thanks to volunteers eager to discover connections between the two different worlds of Roma children in Lozorno and high school students in Bratislava.