Roma women leaders from initiative groups in Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Kryvyi Rih once again came together to learn and strengthen their practical skills.

We brought them together for a four-day training “Human Rights Compliance and Project Implementation by Women’s Initiative Groups During Wartime.” The training was organized jointly with CARE_Ukraine within the Women Lead in Emergencies component.

We carefully designed the program to ensure it was balanced, effective, and engaging for all participants. The agenda combined training modules, a facilitation session, practical exercises, and group discussions. At its core were real-life challenges that Roma women face in their communities: lack of understanding from local authorities, resistance or restrictions within families, distrust from the community, and fear of taking responsibility or openly expressing their activities and positions.

A central element of the training was the facilitation session “Three Keys to Success”, designed in a quest-based format. It helped participants better understand what truly determines the success of community initiatives. Through role-playing exercises, they worked on negotiation and partnership-building skills. They also explored situations where husbands or parents prohibit participation in training or civic activities, citing security concerns, traditions, or fear of social judgment. The third key focused on working with the community. Participants discussed trust, fears, and stereotypes and, through practical tasks, saw that communities respond more positively to simple, clear, and safe formats than to formal events.

Following the quest, participants jointly developed a “Code of an Effective Woman Leader” — a set of principles they plan to apply in their future work. These include offering solutions, building partnerships within families, and creating spaces of trust within their communities.

Another important part of the meeting consisted of thematic trainings on human rights compliance, the principle of non-discrimination, financial documentation, reporting, and communication. Our goal was to equip women with clear and practical tools. Step by step, we explored how to develop an idea from concept to implementation, how to account for wartime risks, prevent burnout, present themselves on various platforms, and maintain confidence.

This training once again demonstrated how vital it is to create spaces where Roma women can openly discuss complex issues, share experiences, and find support. It is through such meetings that changes begin — changes that shape a new future for communities. We see, step by step, how Roma women are becoming agents of change.

The activities are implemented in partnership with CARE Ukraine within the project “Strengthening Access to and Provision of Services for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Gender-Based Violence Support for Conflict-Affected Women and Girls in Eastern and Southern Ukraine”.