Erstellt am: 24. 9. 2011 - 07:11 Uhr

Ordinary Superheroes in Eastern Europe

Today's Reality Check Special: in a region which has yet to fully shake off the legacy of communism and conflict, ordinary people with simple but innovative ideas are affecting extraordinary change.

Earlier this year I went to Prague at the invitation of the Erste Foundation. The occasion was the Erste Foundation Awards for Social Integration in Central and Eastern Europe. It was a lively and uplifting experience meeting so many people with so much energy and such dedication to trying to improve the lives of those whose fortunes hadn’t been swept up by the march of democracy. Today’s Reality Check features portraits of some of those people and what they do.

Little People is a charity in Romania which works to provide psychological care for children and teenagers suffering from cancer. The Concordia Bakery in Bucharest started off as a Christmas cookie baking session at a home for street children and now provides not just bread, but training for street youngster and an income for the home. The group Balkan Sunflowers runs learning centres for minority groups in Kosovo and employees teenage tutors from the community to teach and mentor the younger children. The Most Mira, or Bridge of Peace project in Bosnia runs an arts festival to bring children from different ethnic groups together to foster understanding and tolerance.