Baraka 5 Begins!
Pictured: dinner with our first guest of the year – Marek Rohaček, the main supervisor of the Baraka Project. He joined us for an evening discussion + an incredible amount of pumpkin soup.
Dear friends and family,
It’s the end of September 2022, and Baraka 5 is well underway! This year’s group is the largest yet – 13 participants (Amy, Hana, Julo, Patrik, Emily, Daniela, Vlado (who is returning from last year), Ivan, Roman, Sofia, Erika, and Zuzka + her daughter, Gretka), our helper (Samo Skyva), and 2 workers (Randi and Dávid Laco). We are settling in well, the space is starting to feel warm (especially when the radiator is turned on), and it’s been lovely to begin to build friendships.
Move In and the First Team Building
Beginning on September 1st, both the members and the staff moved into the space. Before the new people arrive, the past Baraka members move all of the furniture into the living room, and the first task of the new group is to rebuild the space and cook dinner.
This year we had several things to build for the space and we also spent time moving things around the school to be helpful before the year started. This year’s group will also have a team that is responsible for the coffee shop, The Eagle and Child. They have worked hard in the last few weeks to prepare the space.
Guests and the Soriée
So far we have hosted two guests – Marek (mentioned above) and Ralph Gatti who came to talk about the importance of living life for others vs. living for personal ambitions. He also discussed how his work brought him to Bratislava.
Aside from our regular evenings together, we also spent our first weekend preparing for the annual party – the soiree! It was a wonderful time with friends and family to show off how we put together the space, plus a chance to get to know some of the past members of Baraka.
Erika – the MC for the evening – interviewed the legendary Zuzka Kotvanova, one of the founding Baraka workers.
Thank you for joining us in this project, we know that we couldn’t do this work without the prayers and support of so many friends! We look forward to how we will grow, what sort of ways we can help the community with our manpower, and all the good that comes from building close relationships.
Cheers!
Baraka 5
(Emily Furinda + Randi Laco)
Last but not least – we spent an evening out on the town in early September! We got to see Ivan Siller play piano at the Slovak Radio Building (this crazy inverted pyramid in Bratislava).