Scientology Volunteer Ministers give indispensable support to children with disabilities in Debrecen, Hungary
DEBRECEN, HUNGARY, November, 2021 / Scientology Volunteer Ministers traveled to Debrecen to support children with disabilities and their families through the Children’s Hope Foundation.
Children with long-term illnesses or disabilities are everyday heroes who are often turned away or simply ignored by society. Most people don’t realise that what comes naturally to an ordinary child is an extraordinary struggle for a child with a long-term illness or disability, whether it’s learning, simple daily routines, or essential self-care. Not to mention sports, arts, or anything else that a healthy child can quickly master with a bit of practice.
Fortunately, children with disabilities or long-term illnesses can be helped by their parents and by doctors and developmental professionals. In addition, some NGOs exist precisely to help disadvantaged children. One of these is the Debrecen-based Gyermekremény Foundation, founded in 2014 to support children with long-term illnesses or disabilities and families in need in Debrecen and the surrounding area. The team at Gyermekremény is committed, in and around Debrecen, to giving hope back to all children who have been disadvantaged by life because of a disability or illness so that they can achieve their goals and dreams and progress on the path to recovery and adulthood.
It is usually a shock for parents when they find out that their child has been injured or has become permanently ill. In many cases, a job change is necessary, or even parents who previously had a regular income are forced to give up their jobs and professions to care for their children and are forced to live on welfare. Some even sell their house to pay for their child’s medical treatment or rehabilitation. Moreover, their already tragic and difficult situation has been compounded by the pandemic, with families where children have been left half-orphaned because of the covid or where the family has lost its source of income because of job losses.
Of course, it is instrumental having someone to help them out, and that is why Children’s Hope is supporting more and more families. They do not limit their help to minors, as caring for a child in need can become even more complicated once they reach adulthood. The mother has to stay at home with her child if they cannot care for him or herself, even if they have reached the age of majority. Some of the volunteers of the Children’s Hope Foundation are also among those whose children need care. They are even more socially sensitive in their support of their fellow citizens, whose situation varies but is undoubtedly full of challenges that the average person would never think of. Some families don’t even have internet. Children whose condition had deteriorated in the last two years when they were unable to go to swimming pools or physiotherapy or receive proper medical treatment because of the pandemic closures. Also, there are families supported by Children’s Hope where their child’s implanted heart has given up and is now in hospital waiting for a new heart, and because he is just over 18, he is on the longer adult waiting list, yet he and his family are hopeful, even though his parents are unable to visit him due to the epidemic restrictions.
The coordinator of the Children’s Hope Foundation said that donations are increasingly challenging to raise. Still, it is often not the people you would think of – very wealthy businessmen and companies – who support them. They get donors, but most of the donations come from ordinary, everyday people: teachers, doctors, and even cleaners. There are also churches, of course.
During the pandemic, one of their main supporters became the Church of Scientology, which the Foundation found through a post on social media. Seeing that they were supporting people in need all over the country and that their volunteer pastors’ motto was “There’s always something you can do,” the Children’s Hope coordinator sent a message to the Church’s official page asking for help. She received an immediate yes reply. And so, last Christmas, Scientology Volunteer Ministers arrived in Debrecen from Budapest with a considerable donation of non-perishable food and cleaning supplies. It was precisely the same this time, as the Foundation was already preparing for Santa Claus, so again they asked Scientologists if they could help. So once again, a group of Volunteer Ministers from the capital came to Debrecen. They brought 39 children with autism a Santa Claus parcel and 7 kg of scones, which the Children’s Hope team will deliver at the entrance of the Autism Day Institution, as visits are not possible at the moment.
The Volunteer Ministers also brought 40 families in need some non-perishable food items: tinned food, milk, oil, soup cubes, tea, lemon juice, porridge, oatmeal, ground poppy seeds and nuts, as well as potatoes, onions, and eggs. In addition to the food, two pallets of cleaning products, disinfectant, toilet paper, tissues, hand sanitizer, toilet perfume, and detergent were donated to the families.
And the Children’s Hope Foundation will distribute all of this equitably to families with at least one permanently ill or injured child of any age, while they won’t say no to those without such children but who still need the support. They believe that those who are trying to make it will succeed, but that support is needed in a difficult situation because if the parent gives up hope, the child will feel it too.
Parental example is one of the most essential tools in children’s education, not only for children with disabilities. Healthy children also follow the parent’s example in their attitude towards their needy peers because the child is accepting and does not discriminate.
