Most Croatian schools, kindergartens, dormitories and other institutions dealing with children, mark “Days of Bread” in mid-October and World Bread Day, on October 16 every year. They are correlated to World Food Day with aim to raise awareness of the importance of health nutrition, organic food production and biodiversity conservation. Bread Days also serve to arouse children

awareness of how hunger exists in the world and how many of their peers are hungry.

Though the main idea and purpose of these events are unquestionable, children with celiac disease are very often forgotten in these occasions and activities that are being held. While other children are making gluten bread with their teachers, visit mills or gluten bakeries, children with coeliac disease are supposed to step aside, and even then, they jeopardize their physical health. Not to mention how they must feel left out and marginalized, which in long term affects their sense of affiliation, self-confidence and generally mental health.  And when a child doesn’t feel comfortable with what he is and what needs he has, chances of breaking strict gluten free diet to become “same as others” are greater.

In most cases teachers are not to blame, they either didn’t know enough about celiac disease, strict gluten free diet and all the threats for children with CD, or weren’t trained to work in an inclusive environment.

Whatever reasons are there, it’s our obligation to raise awareness about CD, to work on education on all levels and to try to improve inclusive politics in our countries. CD SKILLS project is a great platform to do that.