WHAT IS THIS JAM?
This game jam is for the sole purpose of creating a game bundle to help fund the vital work of our dear friends in Bulgaria in helping the Romani community there with their daily struggles. You can read some of their stories below and watch the videos to learn more about the situation of the Roma community in Bulgaria. By submitting to this jam, you agree for your game to be included in the bundle and for all funds to go to help improve the lives of Roma families in Bulgaria through the work of The Sky And Earth – a project organised by our Romani friends Pepi and Martina Mustafova.
WHAT DOES THE PROJECT AIM TO DO?
Pepi and Martina work to improve the lives of their Romani community in Sophia Bulgaria.
Bulgaria has one of the largest Romani populations in Europe – in fact, Romani people were there long before Bulgaria became a country in the 7th century and our culture has had a huge, positive impact and influence on the development of Balkan culture, dress, music, food, language and dance.
In Sophia, the Romani community work to clean the streets – ironically, looked down upon as dirty for performing this vital service for the rest of the city. Until recently they did this barefoot, but thanks to Pepi and Martina's fund raising initiatives, as you can see from the videos, they now have boots to wear as they do this work. But more funds are needed to equip them with safety and hygiene wear on an ongoing basis and warmer clothes and boots for the harsh winter months.
When the houses of Roma living in the Zahrina Fabrika Romani district were demolished in April 2025 (the final blow of an inhumane demolition strategy implemented by local government from 2017 onwards) , many families were left completely homeless, while a 'lucky few' were placed into 'social housing' which – as you can see from the videos – was derelict, dangerous and infested with black mould, posing a health risk to all, but especially to pregnant mothers, young children, and the elderly and Disabled members of the community.
Pepi and Martina have worked tirelessly to try to raise money to gift to these families so that they can make their homes into safe, liveable spaces. They also raised money for other support such as wheelchairs for Disabled and vulnerable community members who had been left with no help or care. You can see from the videos the wonderful progress that has already been made through the hard work of the Romani community pulling together, and the huge impact these funds have had on real people's lives.
As they continue to work within their community to improve the lives of all, a new goal for Pepi and Martina and their community is to organise either an outing or a gift of some toys for the traumatised children of the families whose homes were demolished. As adults, we can easily imagine (and perhaps some of us have experienced) what it is to lose your home – how much more so for a young child. An outing or toys won't eclipse that trauma, of course, but for children who already have so little it will hopefully gift a brief spot of respite and joy from the harshness of their daily reality.
WHAT ARE THE SUBMISSION RULES?
- No AI generated content of any kind
- Both new and existing games are welcome
- Any content under the TTRPG umbrella is welcome
- Other types of games and assets are also welcome
- Finished products only please
- Novels, interactive fiction and poetry collections are also welcome
- No hateful, bigoted, racist, homophobic, or illegal content
- All money goes to Sky and Earth project
- You must click 'approve' via the email we send you once the bundle is created : we can't publish until everyone has approved the bundle!!
ANY QUESTIONS?
Reach out with a message on the jam page comments section or contact me on bluesky: @pennyblake.bsky.social
LINKS TO VIDEOS:
Please take a moment to see these short clips showing the wonderful results of all the hard work of the Romani community in Bulgaria to support their own journey to a better life for their families:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DKkGc6PM00F/
https://www.instagram.com/p/DNnzrRQsie3/
https://www.instagram.com/p/DNn0AsXsNcH/
https://www.instagram.com/p/DNn0EP_MNjD/
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