Michael and Janet van Boxtel, founders of the non-profit organization Embrace, work among the homeless, addicts, and the poor in Hungary.
They wrote to us about the current situation in the country and especially the consequences of all the restrictions for their target group; the people they have been helping for years.
Various economic support measures have been announced for companies and individuals. Apart from a ban on evictions, these measures do not offer any benefit for poor people or the homeless, the target group we are committed to. This is a group that is hit hard because the demand for short contract workers and day laborers has largely disappeared, leaving many without income.
For Tápiobiscke village, Embrace has been granted an exemption from the mayor to be able to move freely for assistance. For Budapest, the Baptist Aid has been granted an exemption to enter the homeless center and provide support and assistance. Within the rules that exist, Baptist Aid gives us the freedom to do what we want and/or can do to help.
In Tápiobiscke, Embrace provides assistance to the elderly, single mothers, and poor families. The help consists of a weekly food package, prescription medicines, and other things such as diapers and baby food. it used to be approximately 50 addresses per week, but this number is now increasing rapidly due to the fact that more and more people are losing their jobs (if they had any).
We have continuous and intensive collaboration with the mayor and the Bureau for Family Affairs. The number of homeless people we reach used to be around 50, but is currently already more than double that number per week! This is because many other organizations and locations no longer provide help.
Well, it may be clear that any support is welcome. Michael and Janet hand out around 70 packages per week in the village of Tápiobiscke, which cost 18 euro each, making a total of 1260 euro per week. In addition, about 100 packages per week for the homeless (another 600 euro per week). The packages contain food for a week.
Embrace works through donations. We will be happy to send them a generous gift. Any amount is welcome. You can make your gifts payable to: St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U. Make sure to mention: HUNGARY.
Thank you!