About us
Roma Women's Foundation "Chiricli" works in the field of protection of the rights of Roma people, in particular those who suffered as a result of the Russian invasion and became refugees and internally displaced persons. The Foundation also protects the educational rights of the Roma community and works on the involvement and visibility of Roma in all spheres of life and activism.
The Foundation "Chiricli", which means "bird" in Romany, was launched in 1997. At that time, the founders of the organization worked in the Women's Council of the Roma Association in the city of Izmail, and took care of issues of social protection of ethnic Roma in the region.
In 2004, the Foundation received the status of an International Charitable Organization. From a small regional organization, it has transformed into a large team of professionals who work not only in different regions of Ukraine, but also promote the values of "Chiricli" abroad.
In 2005, the Foundation was the initiator and organizer of the first parliamentary hearings in the history of Ukraine "On the situation of Roma in Ukraine" on the basis of the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Human Rights and National Minorities.
So, “Chiricli” is the first Ukrainian organization that raised the issue of Roma women’s rights in Ukraine at the national and international levels. With the participation of the Council of Europe, the first conference “Double discrimination of Roma women” was held in Kyiv, the result of which was the creation of a program for Roma women in Ukraine, as well as the launch of the Network of Roma women activists in 2018.
In addition, the Fund promotes the implementation of the Strategy for the Protection and Integration of the Roma National Minority into Ukrainian Society, uniting Roma communities and local authorities for effective cooperation.
Project partners: Diakonissalaitos Institute, Council of Europe, ODIHR, UN Women, OSF, ERGO, MRG, Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights, VRU Committee on Human Rights, Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Social Policy, Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.
– Education. Conducting trainings, schools and educational seminars on the topic of human rights for Roma women, youth and employees of power and law enforcement structures, teachers, social workers, etc. Providing courses on financial literacy, soft skills, and personal development for small and large business owners.
– Monitoring. Conducting surveys and research on the observance of Roma rights, the level of discrimination in different regions of Ukraine, as well as opportunities for implementation and employment.
– Media. Holding of press conferences and round tables dedicated to holidays and days of remembrance, as well as highlighting the current problems of Ukrainian Roma.
– Mediation. Implementation of the program of Roma mediators, which is designed to improve Roma access to social and medical services and to establish a dialogue between Roma and local authorities.
– Advocacy. Human rights companies are aimed at protecting, strengthening and expanding the rights, freedoms and interests of Roma communities at the national and international levels.
– Support. Studying the cases of refugees and IDPs, providing them with material assistance, food kits, medicines, etc.
– Development and management of the Social Corporate Cluster, for entrepreneurs from small to large businesses. Integration of budding, talented entrepreneurs into medium and large market businesses in Ukraine and beyond. Providing small grants for the implementation of business ideas, attraction of investments for the scaling of medium and large businesses. Business Consulting.
Good deeds
