The Partners Hungary Foundation and donations
How does Partners Hungary Foundation think about donations? In socially vulnerable communities, most of our projects aim to improve Roma access to quality education and health care, encouraging self-organisation of local communities. However, the epidemic situation has increased the communities' need for items such as smart devices, cleaning products, food... We have been thinking about how we can, at an organisational level, provide any form of [...]
How does Partners Hungary Foundation think about donations?
In socially vulnerable communities, most of our projects target Roma access to quality education and health care, encouraging self-organisation of local communities.
However, in the epidemic situation, the need for items such as smart devices, cleaning products, food has increased in the communities... We thought about how we can help the communities in any way at an organisational level with COVID 19, as we are not a donor organisation, this is not our speciality. In our Roma mediator network, we put out calls for applications that mediators and Community Action Groups could apply for as an informal group.
We have connected the municipalities with the financier. We submitted three applications, in three municipalities where there are already active communities willing to do something for themselves and where we have already run or are running an intercultural mediation programme: Nyírbátor, Gyulaj and Napkor.
As there are many children who cannot learn due to the lack of digital devices, the community bought tablets. A set of criteria is used to decide at local level who will receive these tablets. The mediators receive professional support from the Partners Hungary Foundation to help them in their work as community organisers. We are now thinking about providing online mentoring for children who are lagging behind in their learning, if needed, together with parents who have the capacity.
Furthermore, linked to health, cleaning products were also distributed in the municipalities by mediators, with the help of local volunteers, to Roma and non-Roma families, as the mini-projects can also fund limited resources. In Onga, mediators sew masks on a voluntary basis and distribute them free of charge to members of the population. They also buy cleaning products through a community collection in Napkor, where community organising is being launched.
In Nyírbátor, parents take an active role in online learning, supporting each other. In Gyulaj, where the Community Action Group continues to work closely with the municipality, children will receive tablets this week.
The Partners Hungary Foundation is very grateful to the mediators who volunteer for these activities, congratulates them for their work and, where projects are ongoing, provides all possible support within the framework of the framework. This is how we can strengthen and support people in this difficult situation.
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