Roma are the largest minority in Europe. But in many cases they live in oppressive poverty, confronted with prejudice and social exclusion. With an estimated 500,000 people, almost ten percent of the population, Roma are the second largest minority in Slovakia after the Hungarians.
The majority of the Slovak Roma live in disastrous living conditions. Their residential areas are often ghetto-like settlements on the outskirts of villages and small towns. These are living conditions that give people no chance of a decent everyday life. Most of the Roma have neither finished school nor have a job. Prejudice and lack of understanding make it difficult for them to integrate into social life. Welthaus supports the integration of these Roma into society.