Life Together Vzajemne souziti

Flood-hit Hrusov 1997

Vzajemne souziti or Life Together is a registered Czech-Roma NGO working in the Czech town of Ostrava to strengthen mutual confidence and co-operation between the marginalised Roma and the majority Czechs, and improve the living standards of the Roma.

A team of 55 Roma and Czech workers and several volunteers offer a range of services from humanitarian aid, free educational programs, social work, community work to strengthen the position of the Roma in the ghettos vis a vis local institutions. We strive to defend the rights and dignity of individuals, resolve conflicts, strengthen democracy and community participation, and encourage a culture of non-violence and understanding. Our work is financed by a basket of local, national and EU funds.

Our work has been recognised by several institutions with their awards. They include Charter 77 (Frantisek Kriegel Award -1998), Czech Foreign Ministry (Gratias Agit - 1998), Place in the Heart (1998), Tolerance Foundation (Prix Irene - 2003), The Honorary Police Medal (2003), Austrian Unruhe Stiftung (SozialMaria - 2004), International Romani Union Certificate of Thanks, The Union of Vlachi Roma Certificate of Thanks, The US Embassy (Alice Masaryk Award - 2005).

We began our work in the aftermath of the catastrophic floods of 1997 that destroyed the locality of Hrusov in Ostrava Having moved in to live and work with the displaced Roma families, a team of volunteers helped ease local hostilities and provide aid. This served as the basis that secured trust and provided experience and the philosophy to develop our subsequent work.

Service centres

Social and Legal Advise Centre.
Roma Community Self-Help Centres At Liscina, Zarubek and Hrusov.¨
Centre for Dialogue between the Roma and Local institutions.
Police Assistants Team
Hnizdo- Centre to prevent forced removal of children from caring parents.
Human Rights Team.
Group of women harmed by forced sterilization.
Sports
Culture.
Czech-Roma Co-existence Village



30.dubna 3 Ostrava 702 00 The Czech Republic To be linked to the Czech site of Life Together/ Obcanske sdruzeni Vzajemne souziti, please click here. Phone: +420 596130715, Cell: +420 777760191


Hours: 8 a.m to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday. For special needs or information on events please call. Contacts: Chairperson and director: Kumar Vishwanathan +420 777760191 Assistant: Simona Jiraskova +420 596130715, 777760190 Director of Social Services: Lucie Mastna +420 777760192 Director of Community Centres: Petra Juroskova +420 77776019 Director of Finances: Justina Kamena +420 596130716 Community Centre, Liscina: Zdenek Kroscen + 420 777760199 Community Centre, Hrusov: Renata Gažiova +420 777760195 Community Centre, Zarubek: Marcela Istanekova + 420 Hnizdo: Hana Zurovcova +420 775761189 Police Assistants Team: Olga Hrdinova +420 731261792 Group of women harmed by forced sterilization: Elena Gorolova +420 Human Rights Team: Jana Kabelačova: We do not charge for our services.

We are grateful for your comments.

vzajemne.souziti@tiscali.cz, kumar.vishwanathan@lycos.com