Katie Filkins
Volunteer: Katie Filkins
Bio:
I am a currently serving Youth Development Volunteer working towards efforts of integration of at-risk Roma youth in a very segregated town an hour south of Sofia - the Bulgarian capital city.
Contributions from Katie Filkins
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Kinder Goodbyes before COS
A special moment as the kindergarteners I've been working with for 2 years in the Roma/Gypsy neighborhood in my town pile on for one last goodbye group hug before I COS in a matter of days.
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"S'more" Doesn't Translate
On a hike this past summer, I introduced my kids to the joy of a campfire necessity - s'mores!
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In house dance party
On a stroll through the Roma Quarter/ghetto to visit some students, I was able to catch this dance party going on through someone's open kitchen door.
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Fun on the ice
The local municipality donated three free 1-hour sessions on the winter ice rink to the kids at our Roma middle school in the Samokov mountains - the "Capital of White Sports"
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Celebratory Horo
The Roma middle school in Samokov, Bulgaria celebrates the national culture holiday last May by dancing the Bulgarian folklore horo as a school.
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Cultural Exchange
An American high school student from the capital city has been leading a photography interest group with my kids at the Roma middle school in town. Each child had the chance to take photos with disposable cameras as a photo assignment. Here, the American student is interviewing each child about the photos they took, and will later write an article about the kids and their creative inspiration for the biggest English news agency in Sofia, Bulgaria.
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Charging with giants
I've spent the last two years working towards the empowerment and integration of Roma youth in a small town in South-West Bulgaria. You haven't truly lived until you've seen 200 of the world's most overlooked kids get to be the center of someone's world for a few hours. This past spring, while on a humanitarian tour throughout Bulgaria, a dozen college and professional basketball players spent an afternoon in the school yard of the segregated elementary school in the Roma ghetto playing games...
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Merry Christmas!
Getting ready to celebrate with their annual Christmas program, 5 kindergarteners at the Roma kindergarten in Samokov Bulgaria stop for a photo op while sporting their new Santa hats!
