Our Story
In the summer of 2018, my husband Bill and I, along with our three children embarked on a journey to eastern Slovakia. Our two youngest children are Roma, biological siblings whom we adopted in 2000. We were interested in learning more about our children’s heritage and the lives of the Roma people who lived in the area. Our guide, who assisted with the adoptions, was a missionary who we had known for many years. He and his wife had lived and worked in eastern Slovakia for about 20 years.
We learned that in the small villages of eastern Slovakia, the Roma often live in at the edge of the village in “settlements” with very substandard housing. We walked around a few settlements with the missionary, meeting people and learning about their lives. It was heartbreaking to see people living in such conditions, with homes that were constructed out of found materials, no foundations or solid floors, and typically no running water or sewage systems. Often a large family crowded into one or two very small rooms.
We were also able to spend a couple of days with a few Roma families in Zemplinska Teplica, a village of about 1,850 people. We were honored to be invited into their homes, share meals together, go for walks and play a little soccer. We listened to them tell us stories about their lives. Very lovely people. Resourceful, but often lacking the resources and opportunities to improve their lives. It was with heavy hearts that we gave them very long goodbye hugs. We knew that somehow we wanted to help them.
When we returned home, we discussed different ways that we might partner with the village of Zemplinska Teplica and the Roma to help them build a better future. Our discussions often revolved around the word hope – what could we do together that would provide the Roma some hope that there could be a better tomorrow. We began traveling regularly to Zemplinska Teplica, each time learning more about the complexity of the situation and building more relationships. It wasn’t just one thing that was needed – it was better housing, education, employment and more.
We formed the Zemplin Mosaic Foundation as a family foundation in 2019. Zemplin is the name of the region around Zemplinska Teplica; mosaic describes our vision of many different people coming together to build something beautiful. In 2022 we formally established our branch in Slovakia: Nadácia Zemplin Mosaic.
Lynn Borgmann Brown, Founder and Director
“We become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams.”
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter
Our Board of Directors
Our U.S. Board of Directors is comprised of family members with a wide range of education and experience including real estate, finance, entrepreneurship, communication, mental health, special education, law, business ownership and management, nonprofits and the arts.