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Although currently most services are ordered from companies at rather high prices, more and more NGO’s also offer high quality services. The event management group of the Hungarian Williams Syndrome Association – young peole living with Williams syndrome who are very easy-going and have excellent communication skills, and their helpers – are happy to do the catering background for any event. Based on the experiences of the past year, this team of young people living with a mental disability is competent in managing children’s programmes, registration tasks and offering tasty appetisers. Because as the Scandinavian say: no one is worth more than the other, only our strengths vary. Thankfully Hungary also has a few people who believe that people living with disabilities, who are usually marginalised, can also be a useful part of the community they were born in.
When cars became more and more common a hundred years ago, many things had to be reconsidered and rearranged. Today the world of the internet creates numerous challenges that we have not faced before. Our child may become a victim while sitting in the safety of his or her room, alone and quiet; anonymous strangers may badmouth any of us; and the shared contents of anyone may reach thousands. Many parents and teachers would be likely to respond to the dangers of the internet with prohibition. However, making a responsible decision through informing ourselves of the potential gains and risks is a much better solution than prohibition. Because the same way as there is no gain without risks, there are no functionable democracies without curious and responsible citizens either. Thanks to Hope to the Children Association (Reményt a Gyermekeknek Egyesület), Bookmarks (Böngésző), a publication that supports the work of teachers and other youth workers by providing information on the theory and practice of recognising and handling internet harrasment and hate speech has been published in Hungarian.
One-third of the children in Hungary live in unhealthy, damp, moldy homes. This is often because of doors and windows that are not insulated properly, but many families cannot afford to have them replaced. What can you do if you can’t afford to buy new windows, but you have had enough of having to heat the street? With the method of Ökoszolgálat, the draughty doors and windows of a home could be insulated for up to ten years, with a cost of only a few thousand Forints. Anyone can contribute to the initiative even with a little money, giving long-term support to underprivileged families.
While different television programmes entertain viewers with various games set in egzotic locations that have nothing to do with real life challenges, during an interactive theatre play titled „Sociopoly” we can get a glimpse into the situation, the challenges and decisions of people living in severe poverty. So we don’t need to go as far as the jungles of South America if we want to try ourselves in merciless life situations – at least for the duration of a game – that we mostly have no clue about.
Parents, teachers and students think about school like that: the bad students are lazy and the good grind their teeth and perform. In most cases it doesn’t even occur that learning might be a joyful creative activity that can even be attractive for the youth and not only for those who want to impress and perform. Yet a number of initiatives show that disadvantaged and middle class children can both learn with good spirit and perform better if we offer learning as an adventure and not a constraint.
Your answer does not really matter. For who is good and who is bad? Who has never made a mistake or an error? And is there anyone who never had any good deeds? These are not the most important questions if you want to see the human in anyone. Everyone is searching for happiness, you too and also those who committed a crime. Everybody goes through hell. Tragedies, dreams and hopes, families torn apart. These are performances where inmate fathers can show their children what they are capable of. They turn into dragon, witch, dog, they are present, they tell stories, they play and proudly show themselves to their children.
The number of really child-friendly cafés in Budapest can be counted on one hand, making it a special challenge to get out and relax as parents and taking our boisterous kids along. HellóAnyu! (Hi Mom!) is a pro-family community space featuring diverse programs, an organic café and child-friendly interior, to enable fun for all, big or small, while maintaining a community focus.
Only a few minutes' walk from Oktogon, the two-storey HellóAnyu! building is a busy, teeming treasure trove. The place is basically a great big playhouse, with diaper changing table, study corner and yoga room facilities available as well as hot food and a range of sweets and desserts for the whole family. This special space accommodates a wide range of age groups: six-month toddlers can crawl around or doze off on the huge baby mat, kindergarten age kids have a dynamic assortment of toys and games at their disposal, school students can take their homework into a quiet nook or take tea with friends, while parents can finally meet up with their own friends and socialize.
New mums have celebrated the disposable diaper for decades, as it liberated them from the nightmare of having to wash poo-stained cloth ones. But nothing lasts forever. At the Hungarian Sustainability