Roma & Travellers
T’aven bachtale! (Welcome!)
Since 2003, Foyer’s Roma Service has been a central reference point for Roma issues in the Brussels-Capital Region. Our aim is to promote the emancipation and self-sufficiency of Roma and Travellers by leading them toward realistic future prospects with an emphasis on integration througd education, training and employment.
| Contact |
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| Brussels-based actors (schools, authorities, organisations) can request an intervention can by email (koen.geurts@foyer.be) or by telephone (02/411.87.32). Interventions can include advice, information, training or cooperation with a mediator (mediation, home visit case discussion, counselling). Actors outside Brussels can also request advice or training, as Foyer is part of the Flemish Roma expert network. Mediation is only provided for services and families from Brussels. |
| Roma and travellers can drop in during the permanence from Monday to Thursday between 2pm and 5pm at our service (Mommaertsstraat 22, 1080 Sint-Jans-Molenbeek) or contact us by phone (02/411.87.32) or by mail (koen.geurts@foyer.be). |
Leaflet: information for clients
Leaflet: information for services and organisations
Our service
At least 12.00 Roma people live in Brussels (2024), mainly from Romania, Bulgaria, Syria (known as Doms), Slovakia, Moldova, Ukraine and the former Yugoslavia. They are an ethnic group that often lead a marginalised existence in their countries of origin and therefore face extra challenges in relation to sociale integration. Brussels is also home to about 120 Rom, Manouche and Traveller families. Manouche and Roms have been here since the 15th and 18th centuries and live mostly in caravans. They live on private land in Anderlecht and Haren, among other places, and at temporary sites in various municipalities. Voyageurs are indigenous Belgians who have been itinerant workers for generations and therefore also live in caravans.
For Roma and Travellers, the Roma service is a first-line point of contact for mediation, family support, guidance, reference, sensibilisation and information sessions about rights and responsibilities. For 200 or so Travellers, the Roma service is their reference adress.
As a second-line support point we provide information and consultation about the target group, offer tailored training and mediation at the request of services, schools, authorities and individuals. We have structured cooperation with a range of partners.
The service also makes recommendations on policies. In relation to current issues (education, begging, homeless families, etc.) the Roma service offers support and advice to local and regional governments and to Brussels organisations and public authorities that work with Roma people.
The Roma service team consists of about five intercultural mediators of Romanian, Bulgarian, Syrian and Roma origin, and two counsellors. Their mission has three parts:
- Increasing education levels: outreaching, guidance, enrolment, school mediation, increasing parental engagement and supporting teachers and pupils.
- Guiding Roma people towards training and employment: outreaching, development of individual action plans, fulfilling framework conditions (family supervision).
- Supporting neighbourhood actions: facilitating relationships between local partners and the Roma community to respond to problems and involve them actively in society.
The Roma Service is supported by:
Want to know more?
The Roma Service is very actif. Below you can find an overview of their projects, publications, …
Publications
Foyer has already published various books about Roma and Travellers. Some examples of the themes in the books are Dom-fugutives in Brussel, Roma in action and Roma and education.
! the books are only available in Dutch or French
You can order the books by mail (secretariaat@foyer.be) or phone (02/411.74.95).
Project Roma@Work
In the Roma@Work project, the Roma service, with support from Europe WSE, has been guiding socially vulnerable Roma to training and work since 2015.
Media
A thematic selection of past reports, press releases and videos from the Roma Service about a variety of subjects linked to Roma and Travellers.
More recent reports and articles can be found on the Roma Service’s Facebook page.
Attention: The articles are written in Dutch!
Principles for working with Roma
The operation of the Roma & Travellers Service is multifaceted. Much of our experience in Brussels has been compiled in ‘General handles for working with Roma’. Besides general info on the history of Roma and the situation in Brussels and Belgium, you can go there for advice on working with Roma in various fields, such as education, employment, housing and begging.
Attention: This bundle is only available in Dutch and French
Educational dossier – Roma in the Classroom
‘Roma in the Classroom’ is an educational dossier for students of the third grade primary school. A couple years ago, the Roma Service developed this material at the request of some primary schools in Brussel to be teach about the culture and history of Roma.
Attention: This dossier is only available in Dutch and French
