And we still help them. We provide gynaelogical provision permanently in the host camp of Debrecen and provide children occasions twice a week – besides, we give our help for immigrants who are currently Budapest or on the way. Between 4 and 6 of September, the Charity Service gave every day 1000 sandwiches , hundreds of fastly eatable food (chocolate, muesli, biscuits), water, hygienic accessories and diapers for the immigrants in the transit zone of the East Railway Station. In the evening, we were following a group by almost 1000 people in the stopping trail of the M1 autoway who were walking towards Austria and gave them hygenic accessories, food and water. Regarding to the current humanitarian situation, we are permanently paying attention to the events and adapt to the current needs.

We are waiting for the offers in the central office of the Aid everyday until 4 PM:

Hungarian Reformed Charity Service

1146 Budapest, Hungária krt. 200.

After 4 PM you can bring your donations to the reception of the Schweitzer Albert Nursing Home:

1146 Budapest, Hermina út 51.

UNHCR/Szandelszky

Now in the Debrecen refugee camp about 1600-1800 people live temporarily, coming from 60-65 different countries. 10% of the residentials are children. Among this quite numerous mass, who arrive to this institution searching for shelter, the need and claim for basic medical service is significant, and also for medical, pharmaceutical pills, medications. The Hungarian Reformed Church Aid with the help of the Charity Council declared to provide general medical service, gynecological specialized care and basic medicaments for the residentials of the camp from the 1st of August in 2015.

   Bódvalenkei-freskófalu

The worldwide known project has been taken over by the Reformed Curch Aid in 2010. The main idea was quite simple: to invite talented gypsy artists in a small village in Borsod, which is populated by gypsies in 95%, to make full wall paintings on the houses. On the one hand, the global aim of the project was to create such artistic values which could make the gypsy people proud and evoke the acknowledgment of social majority. On the other hand, the local aim was to utilize the attention projected to Bódvalenke mainly by means of truism, to help raise the village from deep poverty.

Festivities of Bódvalenke

Thanks to Festivities in Bódvalenke the reputation of the small village has been increasing: it gives place to best world music event of Northern Hungary with talented musicians, poets and other performers and draws more visitors each year. Over the great experience of art and colorful culture one of the most important aspects of the festival is to mobilize two socially unique and completely distinct audience: the local gypsies with difficult living conditions and the middle-classes of the cities. These two types of audience practically would never meet beside Bódvalenke however during the festival they sit together and enjoy the values of each other’s culture. The unconcealed purpose of the festival is social sensitization and to encourage people to give donations since without the support of Church Aid residents of Bódvalenke would live in even more difficult conditions.

With the help of Hungarian Reformed Church Aid you are able to donate and help the people of Bodvalenke! Every small donation counts!

The date of the festival is 7th -8th August and its official program is available on Facebook and can be downloaded from here.

The festival is sponsored by the National Cultural Foundation and Ministry of Human Resources.

On Friday, thousands of immigrants arrived to Hungary. The exhausted, shivering people were continuously coming to the collection point in small and large groups. The Hungarian Reformed Church Aid helped the provision of these people in the collection point in coordination with the local charity services. We gave food, water, mueslis and high-calorie biscuits for almost 1500 immigrants. Lots of elders availed themselves of our temporary resting place. In the afternoon, a huge amount of people arrived to Röszke within a short time, and after it we had to do our job in a forced tempo.

Our work was helped by Arabic and Pastu interpreters. In the evening the police was not able to deliver people from the area continuously – moreover, one part of the immigrants was protesting by closing the ways – thus almost 1000 people had to stay in the collection point for the night. We supplied them with coverlets, mattrasses and warm clothes. Furthermore, we provided the children with clothes, sleeping bags and baby accessories (nursing bottles, infant nutrition, diapers and vitamins). Until evening, the Austrian Charity’s donation (coverlets and pillows) arrived by bus, which we used urgently for the accomodation of the people. Currently the temperature is near 14 degrees and it isn’t raining but the whole area is covered with mud – because of the serious rainfall of the previous week – and trash, so the hygienic conditions are really poor. Most children arrive with respiratory problems and adults are also exhausted and suffer cold. We are still waiting waiting for donations – coverlets, mattrasses and children clothes are especially needed. Our foundation foundation also help policemen – who do their job patiently and professionally – with sandwiches and energy drinks.

In the academic year 2015/2016 our Nyilas Misi Scholarship Program will be launched in a rethought, reorganized, expanded and open application system and with an independent professional jury.

   Who can apply?

Socially disadvantaged 5-12. grade students (10 year-old but not yet 18 year-old) participating in the Hungarian education in Hungary and across the border, highly talented in any draughtsmanship (music, dramatics, fine arts, cinematics, dance), in any kind of sports (individual, team), or in natural history, liberal arts (Hungarian language and literaure, foreign language, mathematics, history, biology, physics, chemistry, geography, IT) can submit their application in order to get support for their talent.

   The amount of the scholarship

Available support is 5000 HUF/person/month for the academic year 2015/16 (10 months). Thee non-refundable aid is paid by bank transfer.

Regarding the use of support the applicant can use it for improvement – membership fee in an association, equipment rental, tutorial support (in school if the school doesn’t provide it for free; private lessons), competition entry fee, travel expenses, gig/performance/play.

Way of submission of the application: via this website (http://legyenfolytatas.jobbadni.hu/).

   Details

The official date of submission of the application depends on the area that overlaps in some cases due to better transparency and easier processing of applications received.

• First term: applications are welcome from Hungary and Slovakia from 15. September 2015 until 29. September 2015. During these two weeks applicants only from this area can apply via electronic interface.

Deadline of submission from Hungary, Slovakia: 15-29. September 2015

• Second term: applications are welcome from Transcarpathia and Croatia from 22. September 2015 until 6. October 2015. During these two weeks applicants only from this area can apply.

Deadline of submission from Ukraine, Croatia: 22. September 2015 – 6. October 2015

• Third term: applications are welcome from Transylvania and Serbia from 30. September 2015 until 14. October 2015. During these two weeks applicants only from this area can apply.

Deadline of submission from Romania, Serbia: 30. September 2015 – 14. October 2015

• Applications received after the deadline will be rejected without any substantive criticism.
• The final decision will be made by the professional committee.
  The expected deadline of the applications’ assessment is 30. November 2015.
• All applicants will be informed about the result by email.

   Conditions of submission of application

• At least a medium or above scholastic record in the previous academic year at the end 2015 (school record card of the end 2015)
• Certificate or recommendation from the person who thinks the applicant is an outstanding talent; factors affecting the applicant’s social situation: lives in a large family, orphan, semi-orphan, the parent is single, there is an unemployed person, a person with chronical illness or with disability living in the same household as the applicant.
• Furthermore, a family circumstance occurred in the family that caused the family lives in a worse financial condition than the average so the applicant is prevented from the improvement of his/her talent.
• An attached document (video, audio recording, photo) about the discipline in which the applicant is talented. A document confirming competition results (up to 3 certificates, not older than 5 years)
• Extra point: active participation in community work

   Further information

For more information: Zsófia Fejér, program coordinator.

Tel: +3630/303-8051

Email: osztondij@jobbadni.hu

Our goal is to create an opportunity for the youth to unfold their talents and achieve their goals. Can the applicant be an athlete or an artist, excellent in maths or a to-be chemist – we will appreciate and support the talent! To be continued!

By donating you can contribute to realization of dreams of needy but talented children!

History

Carpathian sense of mission

Our Charity Service considers the Carpathian Basin as a primary area of activity, in the spirit of universal Hungarian Reformed responsibility across national boundaries. Thanks to developments, however, we have now territorial limits behind us and do relief and development work on several parts of the world.

One of the strengths of our organization is that the centuries-old ecclesiastical institutional system is actively used by our relief and development work. More than 1200 congregations are available in the Carpathian Basin, 102 in Transcarpathia and the associated institutions are available. Of course, these ecclesiastical institutions help our work not only with local information background but they make infrastructure background, experts and tools available for us. One of the most typical example was the case of the flood of Danube in 2013 when our Charity Service used the kitchen of all institutions along the Danube to provide catering background.

Action Plan

Our Foundation is constantly working on the ground and continuously monitoring the situation since the political crisis. Our Foundation’s management is regularly engaged in discussions with heads of Transcarpathian districts, municipalities and NGOs.

Since the end of 2013 the amount of relief supplies to the area had to be raised continuously as the impact of the political crisis has launched the development of a growing economic crisis. In summer 2014 fightings in the areas of Eastern Ukraine clearly had their impact both in economy and in people’s everyday lives.

Our Foundation decided to broadly assess the situation and to draw up an action plan with heads of districts, municipalities and NGOs. Our Transcarpathian work was made of course based on ecclesiastical resources and consulted with the Church leadership.

The jointly developed and approved Action Plan contained the following main elements.

• intervention stocks deposition: 52 209 000 HUF
• heating converting at 66 locations: 27 232 950 HUF
• stove and firewood supply and distribution: 16 500 000 HUF
• operation of crisis cuisine: 26 250 000 HUF
• installment of militia: 1 900 000 HUF
• IN TOTAL: 124 091 950 HUF

Results

Our Foundation is constantly working on the implementation of the Action Plan. More and more supporters are joining our appeal, and fundraising is taking place in more and more communities. Our employees spend several days a week on the scene to guide and coordinate the work carried out across the border. Our aid deliveries are departing and arriving to the target area several times a week.

Donate warehouses are set up in Barabás and Záhony which are a few kilometers from the border crossing point in Beregsurány. The warehouse is important from a logistical aspect because a part of material donations collected in our country is delivered here before shipping. On the other side of the border we have more warehouses in Beregszász which are able to receive both the declared aid deliveries and the deliveries before clearance.

Basic necessities

Sustainable food, bathroom products, cleaners, clothing and other basic necessities are delivered and distributed weekly in 1-1.5 million HUF. So our organization has delivered donations to the target area in more than 45 million HUF since the launch of the Action Plan.

Heating converting

Though we didn’t know in autumn 2014 yet that if that is difficult but the gas supply will be provided in the region. Therefore, we prepared the conversion of gas heating to solid fuel boilers in 66 public buildings. This program was implemented in full. 66 boilers were delivered, supplied and commissioned providing an opportunity for heating by a possible gas shortage. However, there was no gas shortage but the Ukrainian government raised the price of gas by 160% in several steps so the boilers will serve not only a secure background but conservation purposes as well.

Stove and firewood supply

As the gas supply is provided, making this program element be pushed mostly into the background. Apart from a few case – for now – there was no need for purchase and distribution of stoves.
Operation of crisis cuisine

In Beregszász and Derc we are doing catering for 350 people daily in collaboration with the Reformed Diaconal Center and distributing 700 freshly baked breads weekly among those in need. In summer 2014 we renovated the bakery from about 12.8 million HUF which is suitable for baking of 3500 breads daily if needed. For operation of crisis cuisine nearly 10 million HUF support was delivered in total so far.

Hospitals and health care facilities

The Action Plan had to be modified several times because the last nearly half a year developed the needs in another way in more fields. More requests came to us from the local heads that hospitals are very poor in terms of consumables. Thus, during our first action we supplied consumable items in half a million HUF for the military and public hospital in Munkács, and then we decided on the basis of accurate information from the scene that we immediately supply another delivery in 4.5 million HUF to the scene. The delivered relief material could cover the needs of the district for a while.

Relief supplies with 20-ton trucks are currently under delivery whose entire content is hospital equipment, sheets, medical and surgical clothing, etc. The value of the delivery is more than 10 million HUF. The international medical team of our Foundation worked at the scene. On the first hand, we examined children with disability and made their therapeutic recommendations, on the other hand, we consulted with the professional staff of the hospital in Munkács what to do next.

Seeds

The support of local farmers and the fact of the continuity of crop-harvesting are extremely important. We and the heads of the local Hungarian community considered it as a critical aspect that the farmers choose staying, cropping and looking ahead instead of moving, escaping and giving up. It was therefore our highly important activity to support agricultural entrepreneurs, farmers and family farmers with seed and fertilizer. In the recent months we delivered high quality seeds in more than 14 million HUF to the farmers by favour of the largest domestic seed distributors.
Support for veteran families

The conscription might be an issue with the biggest fear factor in Transcarpathia today. Families don’t know exactly when men are taken for military service. Those who are taken are held in limbo by military leaders. These families are not only under psychological burden but by falling out of the “breadwinner” a serious financial crisis develops in families. Therefore, we and the local leaders decided that the family of men with actual front-duty has received regular support for 6 months (possibility of extension reserved).

In the last months we had to help 248 families in this way. Feedbacks are very positive because families see not only the “aid” in donations but the Hungarian people’s concern, care and attention. Many mothers need a smaller-longer conversation by delivery. Thus, starting from March, we’ll deliver grants to homes of a major part of families to allow personal conversations.

In this program we pay attention with priority that not only families of Hungarian origin get support. The rate of Hungarian families in the program is currently 25%.

Difficulties

The biggest difficulty is still the customs support of material donations on the Ukrainian side.

Summary

We believe that continuous on-site work is very much needed. Europe’s largest political-economic crisis may take place today whose impacts on daily lives are tangibly felt in the Transcarpathian region inhabited by Hungarians as well. Our Action Plan is working well under constant revision but according to our experiences. Donations were delivered and distributed exceeding the planned 124 million HUF, overall in about 185 million HUF. According to our memorandum and articles of association we do our work regardless of race, nationality, gender, religion and political affiliation. These aspects are particularly important to us in such a sensitive situation. That is why we hold intercourse with the Ukrainian leaders as well as with our country’s diplomatic representatives delegated to the scene.

We hope for a peaceful resolution of the crisis as soon as possible but at the moment we see that even in case of a rapid peaceful resolution the current economic crisis has pushed back the economic and livelihood perspectives for years.

Latest developments

Beregszász – soup kitchen

Thanks to the support and collaboration of several communities soup kitchen will be set up in Beregszász. HDF offered a “goulash cannon” which has already been delivered. Purchasing the necessary tools to start the soup kitchen (tents, benches, tables) is in progress. The kitchen is expected to launch within a few weeks.

Charity convoy

In collaboration with the Charity Council of the Ministry of Human Capacities the largest domestic aid organizations collected eight truckloads of aid deliveries. Four trucks went to Ivano-Frankivsk, another four to Transcarpathia. The Hungarian Reformed Church Aid did the logistics and customs support of the total aid delivery in Hungary, and the Diaconal Office of the Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary the cross-border administration. It’s important to emphasize because in an interstate project only our Foundation and the Diaconal Office were willing and able to manage such a huge aid delivery professionally and efficiently. Completion of the job brought a significant professional recognition for organizations of our Church in professional circles and among leaders and staff of ministries responsible for the case (Ministry of Human Capacities, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade).

Development projects

The amount of aid arriving in the area is continuously growing. In some places it exceeds the required amount. Our Church’s local management and heads of the communities unanimously suggested in the recent years that instead of aid we start to implement development programs that help and encourage the staying of the Hungarian population. Therefore, we are working on the implementation of the following projects:

• Fancsika – roof replacement and renovation of the Reformed kindergarten
• Kukja – necessity of drilling and creation of new wells since there is absolutely no water in the community
• Beregszász – development and operation of soup kitchen

Creation of a Hungarian Reformed Church Aid’s office

After several discussions our Foundation’s management decided that in cooperation with the Diaconal Center of the Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary we start a permanent office in July in Beregszász. The office staff (initially one person) will coordinate the Transcarpathian programs of the Hungarian Reformed Church Aid. Its tasks will be:

• close liaison with the Diaconal Office
• receiving and forwarding of requests for assistance to the center
• managing donations of the Hungarian Reformed Church Aid (canning, packing in case of need)
• organizing the Hungarian Reformed Church Aid’s programs (distributions, meetings)
• realizing the Hungarian Reformed Church Aid’s projects (eg. roof replacement of kindergarten Fancsika, Kukja well drilling, survey of the families of a four-story house, etc.)
• contact with students of the Nyilas Misi Scholarship, administration (100 children from Transcarpathia from September!!!)
• administration of aid deliveries (gift letters, Ukrainian customs, etc.)

Beyond the serious improvement in efficiency, launching the office has too much prestige value since the larger national aid organizations has operated permanent offices in Transcarpathia for years. So our Foundation which is currently the most active in the area can help in crisis situations not only with work but with constant presence, information flows and rapid response.

Transcarpathian Action Plan

In the framework of our Transcarpathian Action Plan we have already helped the people living in Transcarpathia with more than 185 million HUF since September 2014. The political situation escalating in Ukraine since autumn 2013 is increasingly felt in Transcarpathia, among the Hungarians as well. Immediate and effective help is needed as a social disaster situation is emerging in the region. Offerings are still welcome!

Nyilas Misi Scholarship Program

The talent is a treasure! We believe that beyond the hard work and diligence help is also needed to unfold it. Therefore we support students between 10-18 who are not able to unfold their talents due to financial barriers with 9 million HUF in the next school year. Students not only from Hungary but from Transcarpathia, Transylvania, Highlands and Southlands can submit their application for Nyilas Misi Scholarship Program. Let us help children that their dreams can come true!

Summer camp for children in need

Summer is about relaxing, playing and joy for all children. However, there are families in need whose children would never get to a camp promising exciting programs and offering real adventures, due to their financial difficulties.

In December 2014, during the winter holiday we provided three meals a day for 200 children for who Christmas would have meant starvation. Now that summer is here, we give these children the joy of camping as well! Let’s help together!