aged to get one. We are very proud of it. The Lungo Drom NGO has supported us all the time«, said an elderly Roma woman whom we talked to on her way to the grocery store. The Roma from Coltau are clearly proud of the asphalted road and the drinking water supply system. Since 1999, the community has Roma teachers who function as genuine role models for the young generation. Since 2004, the community has also benefited from the work of a health mediator, who in 2005 was joined in her efforts to support the Roma community by a school mediator. These developments became possible because of a Phare project which was implemented in 2005 by the Ministry of Education using European funds. The Ministry partnered with the County School Inspectorate of Maramures, and the local Town Hall. Through this Phare project, the community also got a new school and kindergarten building. Lungo Drom Coltau is home to a group of Roma musicians, who are known in Romania and abroad as ›Lungo Drom‹. They play Roma music and perform dances to entertain large audiences. ›Lungo Drom‹ started performing in 1990. The same year they were awarded the first prize in the Romanian Mi-
norities’ Festival. The Roma community of Coltau leads a rich cultural life. They use a variety of holidays as opportunities to promote performing arts. The International Day of the Roma People on April 8th is celebrated with local music and dance every year. Each fall, the village organises the Sandor Petofi Ball. Sandor Petofi was a Hungarian Romantic poet and revolutionary. The local legend has it that he brought the first Roma woman, his lover, to the community of Coltau. As described already, the Roma community currently has an active NGO, called Lungo Drom, which is chaired by Mr Iosif Covaci. Last but not least, the Roma people have three counsellors in the local council. The Roma representatives in the Coltau City Council support, inform, and promote the Roma community. They propose measures for the Roma community of Coltau at the local, county and even national levels in various circumstances. Thanks to the efforts of all the above, and to the partnerships the local community has engaged in, Coltau is a thriving community with numerous future plans for further development. The community wants to build a chapel, as well as a sewage system in the Roma community. These plans have already endorsed by the Mayor of Coltau.
k page 67