From the deepest need for our children in the diaspora to learn their mother tongue and following the efforts of relevant institutions of the Republic of Serbia, especially the Directorate for Diaspora and Cooperation with Serbs in the region, to enable such a thing, the Serbian Educational and Cultural Center of St. Helen of Anjou, with the blessing and selfless support of the parish priest of Malta, Father Risto Gorančić, has accepted the challenge to design a project called the Serbian Language School in Malta for the 2021/2022 school year. a year.
The Management Board of SECC St Helen of Anjou decided to apply with this project for funding from the Directorate for Cooperation with the Diaspora and Serbs in the region of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia in August and on September 15. it had been announced that financial resources are approved for the implementation of this project.
We started to work this year, 2021, on October 16 in Malta and on October 17 on the island of Gozo, to the great joy of all participants.
The target group of the project is preschool and school children of Serbian origin aged 4 to 14, whose parents want to maintain a connection with their motherland. Classes are held at three locations in Malta: Birzebudza, Gzira and Aura, and one on the island of Gozo, in Victoria. As classrooms, we use the space given to us by the priests of the parish churches in the mentioned places thanks to the support of the Curia of the Roman Catholic Church in Malta.
We planned three subjects: Serbian language and literature, Serbia, my homeland and Bridges of tradition and culture. Each subject is adapted not only to the age of the children, but also to the level of their knowledge of the Serbian language, and our lecturers do their best to ensure that all children learn the Cyrillic alphabet and basic information about their country by the end of this school year.
The primary goal of the project is to provide every student who attends this class with the best possible knowledge of the Serbian language and the Cyrillic alphabet, Serbian culture, history, traditions and customs, as factors of an unbreakable connection with the motherland. The consequence of the aforementioned would not be only a permanent connection with the country of origin, but also the transfer of a sense of belonging to new generations, as well as the promotion of the culture of one’s people in the host country.
We sincerely believe that this is just the beginning of a new phase in the life of the Serbian community in Malta, especially its youngest members. We invite all interested parties to get involved in building something very valuable for future generations of Serbs who have chosen this island as their new home.
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