Fr. Martin Halík in the programme "Cesta víry"

On Sunday, 18 May, Fr. Martin Halík, founder of the Christian Roma Mission, appeared in the television programme “Cesty víry” on ČT2.

The episode is called “Ajťák z osady” and tells about a successful Czech web designer and Orthodox priest who helps Roma children in eastern Slovakia.

Fr. Martin Halík grew up in a large, poor family with five siblings. His father was an Orthodox priest, and because the family had little money, Fr. Martin had to earn his own living from childhood. At the age of thirteen he began making websites, which led him to design and then to business in digital technology.

Thanks to his family background, Fr. Halík has been close to faith and Christian values since his youth, which later strongly shaped the direction of his life. After his experience in the Roma settlement in Klenovec in Slovakia, where he saw extreme poverty, he gave up his original ambition of becoming a famous designer and decided to help the community there. He has already lived in the settlement for eight years. There he founded the non-profit organisation Christian Roma Mission (KRM), through which he supports the education of Roma and their integration into work.

He teaches Roma children in the faith. For example, he translated the liturgy into Romani to bring the Orthodox faith closer to young people. He also organises various clubs and free-time activities to keep them busy. The most popular are PE, Sunday school and work on computers, where they learn to read and write and even to work in the graphics programme Canva.

You can find out more about this remarkable priest on iVysílání or in an interview for CZECHCRUNCH.