Resilience - Roma children with a parent in prison

I. Introduction

Romodrom (Czechia) is a non-profit organisation supporting people who are socially excluded or at risk of social exclusion in building a full life. Romodrom (literally, ‘Roma’s Way”) helps equalise the starting line for people needing support, providing social services in 15 prisons in Czechia, with emphasis on the Roma minority. Roma represent over 60% of sentenced prisoners in Czechia yet make up only an estimated 2.5% of the general population. In addition to heightened stress due to separation from their parent, Roma children with a parent in prison suffer longstanding societal prejudices, systemic discrimination against Romani communities, as well as segregation (e.g., education, housing) and financial difficulties. The latter often prevent children from participating in normal leisure activities, leaving children ostracized from the child’s peer group. 
Romodrom implements outreach programmes and projects to strengthen the crucial bond between Roma children and their parents in prison, including “Parents to Children, Children to Parents” and “Dads Read to Children”. They also organize Family Days — peer-to-peer events for Roma children that promote, preserve & celebrate Romani culture, strengthening Roma identities, strengthening families, ultimately strengthening the precious bond between children and their parent in prison. They bring joy to Roma children and families, boosting pride in Roma culture while fostering a sense of greater connection to family, friends and society.  

II.  Project description   

Building on previous Family Days, Romodrom is gearing up for their 2026 Family Day for Roma children and their families to experience joy and greater connection—joining in a sports afternoon combined with Romani music and culture and a series of innovative workshops.  

1. Organisation of a sports and cultural Family Day. A football game will be organised at a selected sports ground in Czechia’s Liberec region for Roma families and relatives of people in prison, their children and loved ones, as well as other members of the Roma community. Children will receive a complete set of jerseys, which promotes team spirit and can motivate children to continue playing sports. There will also be a fun-filled workshop with circus features, face painting and a workshop on martial arts. A musical and cultural programme will be part of the afternoon—with workshops on Romani music and dance, art workshops and live music for participants. The initiative will build on previous Family Days organised by Romodrom. 
2. Inspired by previous Family Days. Some 280 participants were involved in Romodrom’s 2024 Family Day in Liberec for Roma children with a parent in prison and their families. The programme, codesigned with children based on preliminary surveys, featured a football tournament, a martial arts workshop, the participation of five Roma dance troupes, a comics workshop led by artist Pavel Novák, and concerts by local Roma celebrities Jan Pohlodek and Vala G. There were refreshments and a raffle draw, with a chic haircut from a local barber shop for boys and facial jewellery stones from a cosmetic salon for girls. The raffle was a tool to motivate the children to try something new: to participate in the raffle draw, children had to participate in at least one of the workshops on offer. The event was attended by social services staff from field programmes collaborating with the Czech Probation and Mediation Service, and the Liberec Prison Programme. In Liberec, Romodrom implements its outreach programme and support projects to strengthen the child–parent bond—Parents to Children, Children to Parents and Dads Read to Children—at Stráz pod Ralskem prison. The Family Day was a great opportunity to showcase these available family bonding schemes to all participating families and children.
3. Working toward sustainability, laying the groundwork for COPE’s annual Game with Mum & Dad football campaign. Likewise, Romodrom’s prison outreach programmes will be showcased at the upcoming Family Day, both those in the Liberec region (social services, social counselling) and those implemented nationally (social work in prison, prison helpline, bonding schemes between imprisoned parents and their children). Probation and Mediation Service and Czech Prison Service representatives as well as social probation officers and partner organizations will be invited to the upcoming Family Day. Family Days plant the seeds for systematising Roma-inclusion family projects within prisons, boosting awareness among families of available projects while further dismantling discrimination towards Roma prisoners and families among prison authorities and prison staff, a barrier to involving them in Family Day events.  

Fostering discussions with prisons to allow access to such events will help pave the way for involving Roma imprisoned parents in future schemes, the aim being to organize Game with Mum & Dad football games involving imprisoned parents — including Roma families with a family member in prison — on prison grounds in 2026 or 2027 once further groundwork is laid and prison prejudices are mitigated. This project promotes sustainability of future events to come, including those involving Roma imprisoned parents. It also advances the sustainability and reach of Romodrom’s prison support initiatives. 

 III. Over 100 participants, with beneficiaries including: 

1. Roma children affected by a parent’s imprisonment, Roma parents and caregivers impacted by a family member’s imprisonment, Roma families with children. 
2. Romodrom staff in Liberec region and those implementing prison programmes. 
3. Roma leaders and other NGO stakeholders in the locality. 
4. Prison direction, prison officers, staff, prison educators, local and national penitentiary institutions (indirectly).    

IV. Child participation and child safeguarding 

As in 2024, Romodrom will ensure a strong involvement of Roma children who have parents or caregivers in prison in designing Family Day activities through semi-structured interviews. Children will guide the planning of activities, workshops, scheduling, date and times. The semi-structured interview will be with children with whom the fieldworkers are in contact and have a service contract with the parents. The interview with the child will be conducted in the presence of the parent and with his/her permission.

The project is sensitive to child safeguarding risk management and includes measures and strategies to address difficulties. Starting from accompaniment during the event, children will be escorted to the finish station to reduce the risk of injury or other hazards. Romodrom staff will be on hand during the event for any required assistance (inappropriate behaviour towards children, injuries). Romodrom has a solid child safeguarding policy and all Romodrom staff regularly undergo mandatory safeguarding and first aid training. Regarding media promotion without the consent of the child or legal guardian, the PR department will monitor and publicize the event according to the schedule, with absolute respect for the privacy of event participants. 

V.  Ethics   

This project aims at the horizontal principles of equal opportunities and nondiscrimination. Sensitivity to gender inequality is cultivated in Romodrom through regular training (this topic is treated in the Prevention of Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Directive), and there is also an area in the Code of Ethics dedicated to this topic; every employee is obliged to comply with this code.  
Sport is a natural connector. At the event there will be an increased focus on respect for the rules and non-discrimination for all participants. The event removes barriers to recreational activities for children who do not have opportunities to engage in such activities or a supportive family background.  

The double burden of stigma

Children with an imprisoned parent often live under a cloud of stigma. For Roma children who have a parent in prison, these difficulties are often intensified by longstanding societal prejudices and systemic discrimination against Roma communities. Systemic discrimination, segregation (especially in education and housing) and limited economic opportunities have long marginalised Roma people.This intersectional stigma means they face a ‘double burden’: the disruption associated with parental imprisonment together with discrimination towards the Roma community. Stigma is embedded in policies and institutional practices that marginalise Roma communities, reinforcing cycles of poverty and exclusion and limiting access to education and healthcare.

When these factors are combined, they can diminish children’s ability to build resilience and maintain a positive sense of self — both essential for coping with the challenge of parental imprisonment.

Addressing stigma thus requires holistic, intersectional approaches that acknowledge these layered experiences. The model developed by COPE member Romodrom (Czechia) offers structured play sessions, music workshops and supportive group activities, providing a safe space where children can feel empowered and build their resilience.

 A model for Europe

Romodrom will present the development and results of the project at the upcoming Children of Prisoners Europe (COPE) 2025 Conference in Malta. This will mark an important opportunity to spotlight the unique challenges faced by Roma children and how they have laid the critical groundwork required for implementing the Game with Mum & Dad (GWMD) campaign within prisons in 2026. 

By sharing insights from its project, Romodrom aims to offer a replicable model for working with marginalised communities across Europe. This includes practical guidance for how community-based organisations can build bridges where institutions have fallen short. By embedding arts, play and community support into interventions, and including key stakeholders such as prison staff, Romodrom showcases a powerful approach to changing attitudes, dismantling stigma and fostering resilience among vulnerable children. This model highlights the importance of culturally grounded, community-led initiatives in breaking down barriers and promoting social inclusion—actually celebrating the culture itself instead of emphasising the need to adopt the “normative” culture and assimilate dominant socio-cultural values and behaviours.