World Ark Magazine - November/December 2008 - (Page 46)

S morning, Balog shared the recipe with Bodor, and the two hope to begin making and selling cheese. Curious what the neighbors thought of these two friends and innovators, I asked how others in the settlement regarded his success. Balog dismissed the question with a slight shrug, a flip of his hand and his boyish smile. “Some people are jealous. They do not think it is good when you have something.” taying Put Back from a day in the settlement, Bodor stands in the evening light outside his new house, holding his youngest son, 3-year-old Sebastian. He kisses the boy softly on the cheek and forehead and whispers in his ear. At Bodor’s feet, the hens and their chicks scour the ground. In the settlement, people were stealing chickens, he said. Here, their chickens range freely with their chicks without the threat of theft. “Here it is quiet,” Bodor says. “It is better here.” He points to the land behind the house and bounded by the railroad tracks that he hopes one day to own. With his finger, he traces an imaginary fence he would like to build so he could move his goats here. The family gathers inside, all perched on the edge of one bed, Bodor at the center. They talk about their prospects for the future. Now that Slovakia is in the European Union (it was admitted in 2004), Slovakians are free to travel to other countries in search of work, usually low-wage factory jobs. Bodor, unlike many of his Roma and non-Roma peers, chose to stay here in Drahnov, despite the lack of work. Bodor says he will not even consider leaving for the promise of work elsewhere. “First of all, I have goats from the project. I would like to breed goats. I want a farm.” And after a pause, he leans forward and says, “I have children. I do not want to leave my children and wife. I need to take care of the children.” HEIF ER PROJ ECTS TA k E A IM AT D IS CRIM IN AT I O N Heifer International has 11 Roma projects in four central and eastern European countries: Albania, Kosovo, Romania and Slovakia. In addition to providing goats or rabbits and training in animal husbandry, these projects work within communities to eradicate discrimination. To learn more about specific Heifer projects, visit our interactive projects map at www.heifer.org/map. Photographer Dave Anderson is best known for his widely acclaimed projects, Rough Beauty and Roadside Ghosts. Learn more about his work at www.dbanderson.com. See more of his photography and read the reporter’s notebook at www.heifer.org/worldark. 46 November/December 2008 | WORLD ARK http://www.heifer.org/map http://www.dbanderson.com http://www.heifer.org/worldark

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of World Ark Magazine - November/December 2008

World Ark Magazine - November/December 2008 Contents Letters For the Record The Good Life Asked and Answered Finding Peace in Africa Sierra Leone on the Mend The Roma: A People Apart Mixed Media Heifer Bulletin Heifer Spirit Calendar First Person

World Ark Magazine - November/December 2008

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