Bilgym’s residential community, BARAKA, is situated in the premises of the C. S. Lewis Bilingual High School in Bratislava. The common and accommodation spaces have the capacity of 15-20 people.

The facilities include:

• Accommodation consisting of two- to three-bed en-suite rooms. This space becomes home for every member of the community for 10 months. The accommodation provided is not luxurious, however, we do our best to make all members feel at home, and in case they need room for themselves, they have a chance to enjoy peace and solitude.

• Study room with a library is a space for the community where educational workshops and lectures take place. This room is dedicated to focused study. If I enter the room, and someone is already working there, I nod my head to greet them, and place my things on a nearby table with a good feeling that I am not the only one in the world who needs some quiet time to read or study.
• Kitchen, where we can learn how to cook from each other, or just prepare simple meals. On days of shared community dinners, the kitchen is reserved for those on duty. However, others will always be able to help with cutting, peeling, or stirring. 

• Common room – this is the center of community life. Sometimes you will hear laughter coming out of there, or a movie followed by a very lively discussion, and sometimes you can hear peaceful music, see people just hanging around, or talking in groups. It is a place for everyday life.

• Two other very important rooms are within the broader premises of the community. The first one is a technical room, where you can find a vacuum cleaner, or a washing machine, and so can tackle a particular kind of problems in life (that become quite urgent in the absence of your mom). The second one is sanctuary/chapel that will provide space for prayer, thought, or solitude and peace for anyone who needs it.

We are happy that the construction works that have taken place at Bilgym so far helped us breathe life and more color into many of the classrooms, the student cafe, gym, fitness room, and many of the tutoring rooms. We believe that also thanks to people in our community, these facilities will be kept colorful and full of life.

Warning: Such setting of individual spaces is the work of the Barakians of the given year, so there is a high chance that if you are planning on going to Baraka, it will look different than in the pictures. 🙂