After playing football with his friends, the first thing Misha, 12, did was wash his hands.

"You need to wash your hands for about a minute to stay healthy," he said, pouring the water from the well into the washstand, then picking up a bar of soap.

These plastic cleaning stations have been installed in the Roma family in Kholmok village, Zakarpattia region. With the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development, UNICEF and its partner NEEKA charity provided sanitary products, washing powder, shampoo, washing containers, gloves and hand sanitizer to the settlement and other similar places.

The project was implemented in the Zakarpattia region in 2020 and aims to support Roma families through the COVID-19 pandemic. Roma families in Ukraine are particularly vulnerable due to limited access to sanitary products, clean water and electricity, and high poverty rates.

In 2020, with the support of the American people, more than 20,000 people in 32 Roma settlements received household hygiene kits provided by UNICEF.

As part of this project, extensive awareness-raising campaigns have also helped promote the prevention of COVID-19 among the Roma. Activists from the NEEKA charity distribute leaflets and posters, and organize interactive activities for children and adults to teach them how to protect themselves from the virus.

"Our children love singing this song and washing their hands," said Josef Papp, the head of the Roman community. "Volunteers taught them the lyrics of a Hungarian song, which lasted 60 seconds." Most families in the settlement live in poverty and cannot afford the urgently needed hygiene supplies for their children.

The Roma settlement in Kholmok village is home to approximately 700 people. Similar settlements, called "tabors" (camps) by the Roma, are scattered throughout the Zakarpattia area. The Roma are the fifth largest ethnic minority in the region, with an estimated number ranging from 80,000 to 150,000, because not all of them have passports and birth certificates.

“Many people in our factory work in a garment factory. Many people clean the streets and do cleaners, but most of them are unemployed,” said Angela, who lives in a Roma settlement in an area of ​​Uzhhorod. She has four children. Together with her husband, she helps villagers with office work, school and job hunting for the children.

According to the latest opinion poll by the League of Roma NGOs, about half of the Roma are unemployed. In the rural and suburban areas of Zakarpattia, the unemployment rate in Roma communities is even higher, as high as 95%. According to Angela, poor education makes finding a good job and supporting a family challenging.

"Our girls usually only study until they are 13 years old in school, and then drop out to help their mothers with housework and take care of young children," Angela said. “Some parents don’t let their children go to school in winter because they don’t have warm clothes. That’s why many people don’t have an education certificate.”

In the Roma settlement of Holmok Village, the roads are not clear, most of the buildings are unfinished, and some houses do not have running water or heating. Yulia is a mother of seven children, and she said she is used to it. The family washes clothes and dishes outside, and uses the stove to keep warm.

"Without a job, we don't have enough money," Yulia said. "They brought us powder, soap and shampoo, which is good. There is no need to spend money now."

Yulia makes money by collecting, cleaning and selling walnuts. But this income is barely enough for a large family. According to Yulia, the UNICEF hygiene kit will help her save money and meet her hygiene and environmental hygiene needs for several months.

The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown have further exacerbated the economic vulnerability of the Zakarpattia Roma family. Children who used to dine in schools and kindergartens are now forced to stay at home for long periods of time, where there is always not enough money to buy food and medicine. According to Josef Papp, the head of the Roma community, several adults in the settlement of Zacapatia were infected with COVID-19. Now, Roma people in Holmok village take hand washing seriously and observe hygiene precautions.

"We are grateful for the help of the hygiene kit," Joseph Papp said. "After all, it is much easier to hang up the sink and explain to the children to wash their hands often than to seek treatment for them."

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