Cveta was born in 1978 in Urosevac, Kosovo. She has seven sisters and four brothers. Their parents were illiterate, unemployed and lived mainly assisted by welfare.
As children, Cveta and her siblings tried to provide for the family by taking on several jobs, but – like most Roma families – they still remained very poor. When Cveta was nine, she and her three-year-old sister begged on the streets in order to support their parents and siblings. “It is hard to be cursed at, insulted, humiliated by people passing by,” she recalls.
As she got older, her desperation deepend. She was assaulted by an older man whose advance she refused and was left beaten and stabbed in her left leg. Scared, she ran off with her sister and self-medicated. At age 14, Cveta got married, thinking it was the only way out of poverty. A year later, at 15, she gave birth to the couple’s first child, a boy. The family lived as tenants in detached houses. The conditions were deplorable; rats and mice were abundant. She gave birth to three children in these conditions.
In 1999, Cveta and her family sought a better life yet again by seeking refuge in a camp in Bosnia for refugees from Kosovo. This is where she gave birth to her fourth and fifth children. Cveta was active in the camp, helping to take care of other children.
Eventually, the family moved from Bosnia to Belgrade, Serbia, where they registered for social assistance and lived in informal settlements prior to receiving an apartment in newly built social housing units in New Belgrade.
Today, Cveta is 38, mothering her five children and six grandchildren. The family of 13 lives in a single apartment that is about 740 square feet big. They earn most of their income collecting recyclable materials.
Against all odds, and in spite of so many challenges in her life, Cveta is determined. She participates in CWS literacy and small businesses classes for Roma women and says she has fulfilled her burning desire to go to school. She says she will not be satisfied with just being literate; she wants to finish primary school, and be trained for a certain profession afterwards, in order to provide for her family more efficiently.
CWS’s work with Roma communities, running since 2010, continues its demonstrated success in reducing illiteracy rates, improving quality of life and achieving social and economic integration of Roma women—one of the most socio-economically vulnerable groups in Serbia. We’re proud to partner with Cveta and many Roma women like her who are determined to build a better future for themselves and their families.