I was in a hospital in Germany when I received a call from Nina Marinova, the director of the kindergarten “First June” in the village of Butan not far from Vratsa, where I worked as an assistant teacher. Fortune was smiling on me at a difficult time – since the age of two my son Malin, now 14, has been battling cancer. In 2017, his doctors advised us to seek medical help abroad, as there was nothing more they could do for him in Bulgaria. We left immediately. We had been in Germany for almost a year when Nina Marinova’s voice in the telephone receiver said, “Raya, there is a project from an NGO that supports young Roma educators in their professional development. Do you want to follow?”
My name is Raya Simeonova, 37 years old, devoted mother of Malin and his younger brother Victor. I live and work in the village of Butan. Since the autumn of 2019 I am a student of “Preschool Pedagogy with a Foreign Language” at the Vratsa branch of Veliko Tarnovo University. Cyril and Methodius”. I am of Roma origin and proud of my ethnicity. My life is a string of trials, but I always fight and get back on my feet because I believe in God and I know that He gives me the strength to overcome difficulties. Everyone’s journey is a battle filled with downs and ups. I liken this fateful movement to a cardiogram. The line moves up and down, but it is a sign that the person is alive. This is my story as well.
I grew up in a poor but happy and close-knit family. I was the eldest of five children. When I was a little girl I dreamed of becoming a modeler – I am passionate about drawing and I love beautiful and stylish clothes. I often watched shows of famous designers and dreamed of one day having my own atelier. I decided to take this path and after finishing my primary education in my native village of Vasilovtsi I went to Vratsa to study to be a designer – modeler in a vocational school. I worked with zeal to achieve excellent success and this brought me real joy. After the first year, however, I had to quit because the cost of living was unaffordable for my parents. I moved to study in Lom, near Vasilovtsi. For a while I felt discouraged because my major at the new school did not include design, only clothing technology. But I was convinced that I had to continue my education and not give up fighting for my dream, despite the family’s lack of funds. I decided after high school to pursue graduate studies and work to support myself. I have always wanted to be a source of pride in my family and to break the negative stereotype of Roma by my personal example, showing unequivocally that there are decent, educated and courageous people in this ethnic group.
Soon after graduating from high school I met love and married my wonderful husband and support in life, Violin. After the wedding, I devoted myself to taking care of the household and family comfort. I was happy, but the thought of not developing professionally did not give me peace. In 2004, I started working as an assistant teacher at the First of June Kindergarten in Bhutan, where my family took root. From my first day there, the children captivated me with their purity and genuine love. They ran to hug me with joy when I entered the group, and this special bond with the children opened my eyes to my true calling – to become a children’s teacher.
In 2005 I got pregnant and gave birth to my big son Malin. My joy at the long-awaited birth was boundless, but two years later fate presented us with a trial that began the biggest struggle of my life. My son was struck down by malignancy. The pain of the worst diagnosis a parent can hear is indescribable. Walking the torture began, the hospital room became a second home for us. It has been 12 years of alternating in remissions and sickness, in agony and fear of losing my dearest. In this endless dark tunnel, the ray of light that found me was Nina Marinova’s suggestion that I enroll in Preschool Pedagogy. I will never forget the conversation we had then – I answered with “Yes, I want to study!” without thinking twice. The headmistress of our kindergarten, the New Way Association and the Trust for Social Alternative (TSA) were the hand that was extended to me in a difficult moment and the bridge to the realization of my vocation to be a teacher.
After returning from the hospital in Germany I met with Spaska Mihaylova from the New Path Association, who introduced me to the TSA’s Young Roma Educators project and the application procedure. With great desire and new strength I prepared and took the exams successfully, and in the autumn of 2019 I was already a student at the Veliko Tarnovo University branch in Vratsa. The first year of my studies was hard. I was working two jobs and attending lectures, taking care of my sons and the household, but this was my big dream and I was not going to give up. That same year I was promoted to teacher’s aide at First June. I fell even more in love with children, and with the help of colleagues with years of experience, I developed the skills that were important for my professional development.
80 percent of the pupils in our kindergarten “First June” in Bhutan are of Roma origin. The level of integration in the village is high, many Roma graduate from higher education and actively participate in public life. But there is also a part of the ethnic group that still does not appreciate the need for literacy and their children have difficulties in learning the Bulgarian language. One of the advantages of Roma teachers like me is that we are bilingual and can help these young students. My joy is endless when they demonstrate a desire to educate themselves and open future horizons for themselves.
While caring for my son Malin, I realized that every child has his fears and needs love and strong support to overcome them. That is why I give my best for my students to find support in me and feel loved, encouraged and confident. I encourage them to always fight and never give up, as I did myself. Despite my worries and busy schedule with work and lectures, I passed all my exams at university and I am proud of myself. My dream is now becoming a reality. New Path Association and TSA are by my side and helping me to succeed in my mission. They support me both financially and morally and organize trainings to help my professional development.
I am happy to serve as an example to my sons and kindergarten children, as well as their parents. And I wouldn’t trade the moments when one of my little pupils runs up to me saying, “Miss, I love you so much, you are my favourite lady!” They, and the support of my family, help me to bear life’s knocks. When my son got sick again in 2020, I was so heartbroken that I wanted to throw it all away, quit my job and interrupt my studies. But my husband insisted that I move on steadfastly and took over the care of our son. The battle for Malin’s health continues today, but I now know that what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. Regardless of the harsh trials, in two years I will be a qualified childhood teacher with my dream university degree in hand. I won’t hide that there are days when I lose hope. Then I gaze into the eyes of children and see the endless expanses that await them. I tell myself that I too am an important part of their growth as people and that gives me the strength to keep fighting. I know together we will overcome every challenge, achieve our dreams and my child will get better. Then I will say to myself “I won the war, one battle at a time!”