Visiting the Alföldi Street Shelter – National Child Protection Service and Budapest Regional Child Protection Service – June 2022

As part of our foundation’s ongoing program, we regularly visit and provide donations to all the county’s and capital city’s children’s homes, allowing us to connect with both the children and their caregivers at nearly 30 institutions.

We have maintained a relationship with the Alföldi Street Shelter for several years, delivering donations to the children living there on multiple occasions. However, on July 1, 2021, the institution underwent organizational changes, leading to the creation of the Unified National Child Protection Service (OGYSZ), which now oversees regional child protection services in Budapest and 19 other counties. This restructuring was primarily intended to ensure independent representation for children in residential care and to enhance equal opportunities for those in state care.

Given our long-standing relationship with the shelter, we also included the Budapest Regional Child Protection Service in our program, even after the separation. As always, our donations were deeply appreciated, as nearly a thousand children pass through their shelters each year, either in crisis care or under temporary placement. These shelters provide temporary homes for children and adolescents who cannot live with their families due to unfortunate circumstances. They remain in the shelters until they can either return home (if their home environment improves) or be placed with foster families or in full-care children’s homes.

This time, our donation included a variety of items, such as skill-building games and tools, garden swings, armchairs, a foosball table, a dishwasher, and several smart TVs.