Gyöngyvirág Children’s Home, Budapest, 2020
The Gyöngyvirág Children’s Home in Budapest’s 18th District is home for up to 40 children between 3 and 18 years of age. Some are orphans, but the majority are children who have been taken into care by law. They are looked after by a team of dedicated care workers who provide physical and mental support for them day and night, working in shifts. The children attend local schools during term time.
The Home is part of the state-run network of the Social and Children’s Protection Directorate and all staff salaries and operational costs are covered by the state. However, central budgets typically provide only the bare minimum. Further, having to submit requests via a central administration means procurement is typically a lengthy process, sometimes leaving the home with broken equipment for years.
RBIF teamed up with Budapest Airport, RBIF’s Sponsor of the Year in 2019 and a long-time supporter of the Home, to fund the purchase of furniture and equipment in 2019 following a recent refurbishment of the home by the state.
In 2020, RBIF made a further donation to the Gyöngyvirág Home. The staff have used our donation to fund the purchase of fridges, dishwashers, vacuum cleaners and kitchen appliances – items which help make everyday life easier for staff and children in lots of ways. Our donation has also funded the strengthening of the WiFi signal throughout the home and the purchase a printer. Both proved invaluable to help support the children in their online digital home leaning during the pandemic.
Last but not least, our donation has funded purchases of televisions and a karaoke speaker. The speaker helps inject extra opportunities for fun into the various activities and entertainment organised within the home.
