Melisa Baranja, 24 years old, Slovenia
“I know the position of Roma women primarily from my own experience. Because of my personal experience of “being a Roma”, it seems to me that it is important to lend a voice to those Roma women that are mothers who do not have their voice in the wider society.”
Melisa is one of the last people of her generation who still actively speaks the Roma language at home. Her co-mentor for her diploma work, Irena Šumi from the Faculty of Social Work, told Radio Slovenia: “Melisa is distinguished by curiosity, which is part of a talent that cannot be learned, and a high work ethic.”
In 2016, the Rector of the University gave out awards to students who exceeded the requirements and expectations of study programmes. Melisa Baranja received the award for special achievements and activities in the field of extra-curricular activities. She received it for recognition of development of professional approaches to strengthening the Roma community. This year, in 2017, she is the only winner of the Prešeren Graduate Award for her diploma titled Woman, Mother, Roma.
Already in elementary school, she wrote a research paper titled: “How Do Roma and Non-Roma Families Differ?” She continued her education at the secondary school in Maribor: “I enrolled in a secondary nursery school and not a grammar school because I was afraid, my parents were afraid that I will fall in love, get pregnant and my educational path would end without a professional degree. ”
After finishing secondary school, she decided to study at the Faculty of Social Work in Ljubljana. She says of herself that she is eloquent, energetic and ambitious. She grabs every new opportunity to gather experience, new acquaintances, go and look beyond borders. Her roots are not a shame and she is proud of being Roma. Her mission is to show, demonstrate, prove and enable insight into another world. There is not only misery, poverty, theft, lies, different culture, strange language, but there are many more things in the background: on the one hand, diversity, coping with prejudices, stereotypes, unemployment, division of roles, and on the other hand, entertainment, humour, joy and celebration, all combined in one package of diversity.
She devotes a lot of time to working with marginalised, vulnerable groups, among which Roma certainly belong. However, she is not only active in the field of work with Roma, but for a longer period of time she was an active legal representative of unaccompanied minors and a volunteer in the asylum home. She also devotes her free time to children and elderly people with special needs. She says she is a social worker at heart and has been working with people with joy.
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