At present, Amazingy is supporting Menedékház, a halfway house for homeless families in Hungary. Menekdékház is the fourth charitable organization supported by Amazingy. You can read more about other causes and the reasons why Floris and Ingy choose to support those specific organisations here. Menedékház is situated outside of Budapest and gives families in need a roof over their heads.

The families that seek refuge have often lost everything. A big factor is unemployment or job loss of the main provider in the family, leaving them with the difficult decision between paying the rent or buying food.
Social services are almost entirely absent in Hungary. Without the help of an extended family network, it’s very easy for a whole family to end up on the streets. On average, Menedékház houses such families for one year, in accommodations where each family is granted its own room.

Due to the lack of state funding for such organisations, Menedékház is largely supported by private sponsors and donors.
Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of the staff and volunteers involved, there are many families who don’t manage to find another job after their year at the shelter ends. More often than not these families are forced to move to another shelter.

Hope for a better future

The children in these families suffer the most from this situation. It’s a dreary atmosphere to live in, and Budapest is quite a distance away from the shelter. Living in a shelter is not what you’d call a paradise for children to grow up in. Due to the financial situation of these families, the parents often despair and don’t have the energy or the motivation to occupy themselves with their children, resulting in lack of support and nurture. Domestic violence is unfortunately very common, and these children are often dismissed as ‘the shelter kids’ at school, leaving them feeling ostracized.

As a response to this, the volunteers at Menedékház are now planning to take the children to an adventure village in the countryside for a couple of days. The goal is to give these kids a chance to relax and to have new experiences. There, the children will help with cooking and will be given plenty of time and space to play, to improve their self-confidence and to create new friendships. This outing hopefully gives them the possibility to see themselves and their futures in a more positive light.

 Every donation will make a massive difference to the volunteers and the children at Menedékház. Please take a minute to help us support them.

For more information, visit their website: Menedékház