Oldham Roma Health Bloggers 2024
10 Oldham Roma Health Bloggers / Champions’ trained to help tackle health inequalities of the Roma community
KaskoSan charity, founded by East European Romani families in 2014, is the only organisation in the north supporting Romani families in Oldham in their native language variants: Ursari Romani, bear trainers, Kalderash Romani, coppersmiths, Romungro Romani, musicians and Lovari Romani, horse dealers. With the trust build among diverse Romani communities, we have created a space for Romani women and Romani youth to come together and support each other.
We know that the Romani community faces many walls that keep them away from healthcare services in Oldham, such as language, culture, transport, antigypsyism (a specific form of racism targeted at Romani people) and digital skills. We also know that the Roma community has a high chance of getting sick because of unhealthy food and lack of exercise.
That is why we are training 10 Roma health community champions/bloggers who will break down these walls and open up new doors. They will learn how to navigate the NHS system and make the most of it. They will also create and share health and wellbeing information in their languages with the East European Roma community in Oldham. They will show their own stories and realities through audio-visual and graphic content on the KaskoSan platform.
We will organise workshops to build up the skills and confidence of our community champions / bloggers, sessions will include physical exercise, healthy cooking, guest speakers, field trips, and social media blogging. We will also connect our Roma health community champions/bloggers with key people in Oldham’s Health Inequalities Plan, such as NHS and public health workers, council workers, and councillors. With the help of the Roma health community champions/bloggers we hope to build bridges and start conversations between the Roma community and the health sector in Oldham.
In addition, KaskoSan community advisors will be there to help Oldham Roma residents who need a hand with accessing healthcare services. They will offer advice, referrals, and translation 16 hours a week throughout the project. We will also gather and share data on the health problems and access challenges that the Roma community faces with NHS CCG.
One of the ways we support the Roma community to improve their health and wellbeing is by holding drop-in surgeries facilitated by the Roma health community champions / bloggers. These are informal and friendly sessions where Roma community members can ask questions, share concerns, and get advice on health and wellbeing topics. Roma health community champions/bloggers use their knowledge, skills, and languages to provide accurate and relevant information and signpost to appropriate services. They also use their trust and influence to encourage Roma community members to take positive actions for their health and wellbeing, such as booking appointments, attending screenings, or joining activities. The drop in surgeries also help to reduce the stigma and fear that some Roma community members may have towards healthcare services and professionals.
Our project is based on the principles of empowerment, participation, and inclusion. We believe that by helping our residents to gain the knowledge and skills they need, we can improve their health and wellbeing and reduce health inequalities in Oldham.
Training sessions take part every second Thursday at Hack Oldham, healthcare related drop-in surgeries are available online and face to face at Hack Oldham, however, booking is required which is possible either via juice@kaskosan.org or on zero-seven-four-two-two-six-one-seven-eight-nine-four.
