{"id":1350,"date":"2026-02-17T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shcydigitalchildhoods.org\/dir\/?p=1350"},"modified":"2026-01-29T15:05:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T15:05:16","slug":"collecting-childrens-mite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shcydigitalchildhoods.org\/dir\/collecting-childrens-mite\/","title":{"rendered":"Collecting Children’s Mite for Missions and Nationhood"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Many objects related to the history of childhood have been lost to time, and the one I have chosen to write about is among them: collection boxes. These boxes were ephemeral objects, typically handed out by emissaries and Sunday school teachers to be filled with coins for a missionary cause. No one saw the need to archive this specific collection box for future generations, not even the missionary organisation that issued it, Norsk misjon blant hjeml\u00f8se (NMBH, 1897-1987). Yet, it taught generations of Norwegian children a specific story about nationhood and their Romani neighbours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Image 2: Svanviken work camp. Photo: Unknown\/The National Archives of Norway, PA-0793_923G NBR 9403:01391. Used with permission.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Extant descriptions and illustrations show the box as house-shaped, made from cardboard, and brightly coloured, the walls of the house a vivid red. It was modelled on the houses in one of the work camps<\/a><\/strong> run by the NMBH, where Romani families were forcibly placed as part of a settlement program. The NMBH was the main actor in the forced assimilation of the Romani people in Norway, and the collection box was an important tool towards engaging children of the majority population for their cause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The writing on the roof read \u201cHomes for the homeless\u201d, a credo of the NMHB \u2013 and other Norwegian actors who sought to assimilate the group from the 1840s onward. The traditional nomadic lifestyle and supposed heathendom of the Romani people was scrutinised, as was their apparent lack of a home. The home was deemed the very foundation of civilised society and a prerequisite for developing loyalty to the nation state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Image 3: Children’s band from Volden in Sunnm\u00f8re. Source:\u00a0Maaltrosten\u00a0<\/em>2, no. 1 (January 1904): 4.\u00a0Used with permission.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In their children\u2019s periodical, the NMBH described the toy-like box as \u201ca faithful friend\u201d. It was often shared among a group of children in a missionary band, but it could also be owned by individual children. Children would typically gather money by selling their handiwork at local bazaars or donating a part of their pocket money. Letters from the children\u2019s bands recount the excitement of emptying the boxes at year\u2019s end, studying with wide eyes \u201cevery coin that came rattling out, until there was a heap of copper on the table.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1998, the Norwegian government and the Church of Norway apologised for the severe abuse the Romani people suffered at the hands of the NMBH. Still, to this day, the Romani people face racism and worse living conditions than the rest of the Norwegian population. Although both the collection box and the houses it was modelled after are long-gone, the debate over who belongs within the national home is ever-present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Idunn Victoria Rost\u00f8l<\/a> (she\/her) is a Ph.D. Candidate in Intellectual History at the University of Oslo. She is writing a dissertation on how children of the majority population were involved in the forced assimilation of the Romani people in Norway. The assimilatory efforts were implemented by the missionary organisation Norsk misjon blant hjeml\u00f8se (1897-1987) in close cooperation with the Norwegian state. Her work is informed by history of emotions, childhood history, and antisiganism studies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many objects related to the history of childhood have been lost to time, and the one I have chosen to write about is among them: collection boxes. These boxes were ephemeral objects, typically handed out by emissaries and Sunday school teachers to be filled with coins for a missionary cause. No one saw the need to archive this specific collection box for future generations, not even the missionary organisation that issued it, Norsk misjon blant hjeml\u00f8se (NMBH, 1897-1987). Yet, it taught generations of Norwegian children a specific story about nationhood and their Romani neighbours. Extant descriptions and illustrations show the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":1351,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-childish-things"],"yoast_head":"\nCollecting Children's Mite for Missions and Nationhood - Digital Childhoods<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/shcydigitalchildhoods.org\/dir\/collecting-childrens-mite\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Collecting Children's Mite for Missions and Nationhood - Digital Childhoods\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Many objects related to the history of childhood have been lost to time, and the one I have chosen to write about is among them: collection boxes. 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