Best Practices of Early Childhood Development Programs

Home , Sirok, Szajla, Szentdomonkos, Terpes

THE CARPATHIAN FOUNDATION-HUNGARY BUILDING CAPACITIES FOR EFFECTIVE EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT OF MARGINALIZED ROMA IN HUNGARY BEST PRACTICES OF EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS

2019 Tartalom Content

Early Childhood Development – A tool for reducing social disadvantages 2 The description of the program 3

Brief description of the granted organizations, projects 4

The main results of the first period of the program 16

Presentation of the Carpathian Foundation as the owner of the program 17 Előszó Foreword

Since its inception, the Carpathian Foundation has been paying spe- Our Foundation has been cooperating with the majority of NGOs cial attention to the development of disadvantaged, marginalized presented in this publication for several years or in some cases for and primarily Roma communities and their social integration. decades, we recognize the value of their work and strive to support their activities with any and all resources available to us. From the outset, we run programs to provide financial and professional support to Roma and pro-Roma civil society organizations The main purpose of the program presented here is, among many (CSOs) for the successful implementation of their local development other things, to help expand the professional arsenal of involved or- initiatives. Through numerous training courses, meetings and study ganizations in the field of early childhood development further, so tours, we strive to foster the capacity building of these non-govern- that they can start their development work with families in disad- ment actors to allow them to carry out their work as efficiently as vantaged Roma communities in the earliest year possible. possible.

The purpose of this publication is to present and share good prac- Boglárka Bata tices, projects and civil society organizations implementing them in the field of Early Childhood Development (ECD) in marginalized CEO, the Carpathian Foundation-Hungary Roma communities in the north-east of Hungary.

1 Early Childhood Development – A tool for reducing social disadvantages

The period from birth to related to the development of children and the quality of the age of eight (years) their development. is crucial for the com- pleteness and healthy Special educational needs teacher Éva Szomor, expert nature of the children’s on the topic, says that early childhood development as mental, emotional and external help is most needed where children and families spiritual development. living in poverty and deprivation, where conditions and Strong cognitive and so- circumstances - housing, food, clothing, healthy environ- cial skills are essential ment - are missing to ensure the proper development of for their success in adult- skills and competences. All of these, however, are almost hood. It has been long certainly available to middle-class families. known, and proven, that In families living in extreme poverty, due to generation- experiences, stimuli and learning in the early years of life, al poverty and lack of cultural capital, family roles and - this is especially true for disadvantaged children - are of patterns that parents can draw upon when raising their paramount importance to the child’s development and children are insufficient. almost irreplaceable in later life. Therefore, the circumstances in which a child grows up, all the experiences and stimuli that enrich him or her are extremely important in these early years of life, since it determines a child’s future life chances and social mobility opportunities. Children living in families in poverty or deep poverty, who, due to deprivation and poor conditions, do not acquire strong abilities and skills in their early childhood, are more likely to find themselves trapped in lower levels of education, precarious employment, and reproduced poverty for a lifetime than their better-off contemporaries. Children’s early childhood development aims to com- pensate for the lags and deficiencies caused by a dis- Interventions in the early years of life are most effec- advantaged background, poverty and low parental tive. This is the time when disadvantages, which are not educational levels by creating the ideal conditions and caused by disability or health problems, but by bad con- circumstances necessary to allow children and their par- ditions, unfavorable life situations, poverty and depriva- ents to develop, and to perform to the best of their abil- tion, can be best reduced. Éva Szomor and Noémi László ities and skills, with complex approach and services for (2014), referring to American studies, emphasize that in a the children and their family. stimulus-poor environment the brain of young children are lagging behind in development. According to Mária Programs that flag early childhood development should Gallai (2009): ‘Based on the findings of neurological re- not only target children, but also their families, as in search, it is proven that not only genetic effects, but many cases a family as a whole needs to make up for environmental enrichment and the rich emotional rela- missed opportunities in childhood, to overcome disad- tionship between a parent and a child, are also crucial vantages. It is also extremely important to improve the to brain development. All of these have an effect to the availability and quality of education, social and health- processes in the brain and through them to the intellec- care professionals, institutions and services related to tual development.’ children and families in this field.

The quality of children’s home environment is naturally It is also essential to encourage cooperation between closely linked to the socio-economic background, the the affected parties (children, families, professionals), income situation of the family, housing conditions, par- which requires partnership, proper communication and, ents’ education and labor market position. All of these in many cases, understanding and acceptance of each basically determine the home care environment that is another.

2 The description A(z) Target area másolata

Névtelen réteg of the programTomor Lak Homrogd Bükkszentmárton The primarily target group for early childhoodTold are children Sirok aged (0-5), of which 17.5 percent are estimatedTerpes to live be- low the poverty threshold in Hungary.Eger One fifth (19.7 per- Hevesaranyos 1 cent) of 0-5-year-olds live in severe financialBátonyterenye deprivation , ie. under conditions that are insufficientEger-Felnémet for their proper Szomolya development and development of theirSzajla abilities. Nagyecsed Hosszúpályi The European Union average is less thanNyíregyháza half (7.2 percent) of this. In Hungary, nearly one-third (31 percent) of the age group live in poverty or exclusion (the latter is an indicator not only of income and deprivation but also of parents’ unfavorable labor market situation).2 This represents 182,000 of the total child population of Hungary.

Our program is implemented in the marginalized area of North-Eastern Hungary, where we provide approximately HUF 3.1 million (of cca. 10,000 EUR) non-refundable grants per project for 12 local civil society organizations working for the Roma communities in severe poverty each year in order Project implementers are also making serious efforts to to provide complex services, to carry out programs in early break discriminatory and exclusionist stereotypes about childhood development and to improve and expand their Roma people. competences and professional toolkits in the field of ECD. Within the framework of this program, the staff and volun- The supported organizations implement their programs teer members of the supported organizations can attend in 16 municipalities in Heves, Borsod-Abaúj Zemplén, Ha- professional training courses and study tours abroad. jdú-Bihar, Nógrád and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg counties. Our long-term goal is to contribute to the social inclusion The primary target group of the program is 0-8 year-old of disadvantaged children living in extreme poverty and Roma children with disadvantaged backgrounds, (espe- of the excluded Roma communities. cially in the 0-5 age range). In a broader sense, however, the targeted children, their families and the whole community are the beneficiaries of the program. Our annual program contributes to early childhood development for nearly 400-500 children less than 8 years of age, living in difficult conditions, in disadvantaged settlements or areas. Within the framework of 12 granted projects, regular skill development programs, excursions and camps are organized for children which are unavailable or hardly available to them in these rural areas.

Parent and family involvement is also an important part of the program: parents’ clubs have been established in many settlements. In addition to this, programs help parents gain access to information and services about child- care and education.

1 The indicator is the part of the indicator system of the EU2020 Strategy. Severely materially deprived persons have living conditions severely constrained by a lack of resources, they cannot afford at least 4 out of 9 deprivations items: 1) to pay rent or utility bills, 2) keep home adequately warm, 3) face unex- pected expenses, 4) eat meat, fish or a protein equivalent every second day, 5) a week holiday away from home, 6) a car, 7) a washing machine, 8) a colour TV, 9) a telephone. http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/data/database The indicator is part of the indicator system of the EU2020 Strategy 2 Percentage of persons in the general population who are affected by one or more of the relative income poverty, severe material deprivation or very low work intensity. http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/data/database

3 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE GRANTED ORGANIZATIONS, PROJECTS Vazdune Cherhaja - Rising Stars Roma Women Association Jasmine Toy Library of Nagyecsed

The organization The purpose of the Association is a so-called Toy Library, where they to promote the integration of dis- hold children’s activities and toys operates in Nagyecsed, advantaged Roma people through can be borrowed freely so that they one of the most social, cultural, and educational ac- can be used by families at home. peripheral cities of the tivities, healthy lifestyle education programs, fun activities, talent de- For mothers, they organize Tales Northern Great Plain velopment, environmental educa- classes, where moms meet weekly, region, in which cca. one tion, children and youth programs, read a book together, and discuss third of the population by organizing and implementing the lessons of the story. After that, employment promotion programs. mothers’ read the books to their is Roma. children during the evenings. In a lat- Factors that negatively affect the er stage of the project, moms write normal early childhood develop- their own stories. In addition to the ment and school success of dis- individual competence develop- advantaged children living in the ment of the participating mothers, settlement, and socio-cultural dis- their parental role is strengthened advantages are accumulating. and through joint activities the parent-child relationship is also en- Throughout their program, they hanced, facilitating the early devel- facilitate early childhood development of children. opment for disadvantaged 0-8 year-old, primarily Roma children, In addition to spending leisure time improving parenting competen- usefully, family days also promote cies and promoting the inclusion of community development and the families. To this end, they operate inclusion of disadvantaged families.

4 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE GRANTED ORGANIZATIONS, PROJECTS The Igazgyöngy Foundation Three in One: Baby Mom, Speech Therapy, Tanoda - Implementing Three Programs in Told

They are running their project at the Toldi Tanoda (Teaching Center of Told), where nearly 35 disadvantaged Roma children attend leisure and development activities. Due to low education level of parents, housing conditions and the lack of certain kindergarten services, children start the school with a high backlog. A Their complex program is based program series (Baby-Mommy Club, The Foundation, Preparatory Activities for School on three pillars: education, fam- established in 1999, (Pre-School Sessions), and Group ily care, community develop- is dedicated to talent Speech Therapy Program) have been ment, and inter-institutional co- launched, offering a variety of devel- development, with operation. Education covers Art opmental activities for age 0-8. At special reference to School, Teaching Center of Told, the Baby-Mummy Club, young moms can gain useful practical knowledge disadvantaged Roma Baby-Mommy Club and Adult Edu- on parenting and life management children, but they cation. The second pillar includes issues. They cook together while also do field work in crisis management (e.g. food do- they learn games, tales, and nurs- nation, pediatric drug program), ery rhymes with the children. During the Pre-School Sessions, every child the spirit of creating job creation, community devel- receives personalized development opportunities. opment programs, self-sustaining through visual aids. In speech thera- skills development (e.g. bio bri- py sessions, professionals deal with quette, program, Szuno project). children individually under the coor- dination of a speech therapist. They also attach importance to the Social Roundtable, where the This triple program aims to devel- Roma community is also involved op parenting competences, to im- in the discussions. The main loca- plement Children’s Early Childhood Development to help them get into tion for this development is Told, a school and in the long run give them small dead-end village of 300 peo- school career, access to further edu- ple but its various elements are al- cation, opportunities for future em- ready used in 16 settlements. ployment, and adult life.

5 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE GRANTED ORGANIZATIONS, PROJECTS Abacus Workshop Association Cháchi Ody (With a pure heart)

The main activity of the There are a number of disadvan- The location of the project is the taged and marginalized young Roma Kindergarten of Hosszúpályi. organization is Children’s people in their groups, who have The social and socio-cultural situ- Theatre, dramatic behavioral learning disabilities ation of the children enrolled here education to develop or social adaption difficulties. justifies the complex development Through their work, the members and talent management as much as the skills, abilities and of this Association create commu- possible. Within regular activities, personality of children nities both children with problems their project develops the skills and their contemporaries with a and abilities of kindergarten chil- and adolescents (young harmonious family background can dren through the means of theatre people) and young adults find their place and develop their pedagogy, physical education and from 5 years to 26 with dormant creativity and hidden physical activities, helping them to talent. Not only do they deal with socialize and developing positive the aid of art. acting, movement culture, singing hygiene and lifestyle habits. The lessons, speech technics, but also goal is to provide a firm foundation other arts, environmental issues, for these kindergarten children to nature protection, drug prevention, get into school. self-knowledge, stress-relieving techniques, career guidance, or- During the program, a useful meth- ganizing excursions, and acquiring odology is developed and passed social skills. on to the kindergarten teachers; there is also a monthly Parent Club where parents process different topics interactively under the guidance of professionals.

6 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE GRANTED ORGANIZATIONS, PROJECTS Give me your hand! Association for the Promotion of Equal Opportunities in Education and the Labor Market Community Tale

The Tiszavasvári- Collaboration and common think- At the heart of the program, par- based Association ing are crucial within the organi- ents attending with their children zation. They consider it important at “Storytelling Moms” classes each is committed to that Roma people become really week receive a storybook they can providing assistance active participants of their own take with them to continue to talk and programs based programs. Their project of Nyíregy- about at home. on real needs for háza targets low-income families The key element of this program is with small children living in the set- disadvantaged Roma storytelling. In the Toy Library, chil- tlement called Huszár-telep, where people. dren can play high quality games the dissemination of early child- with their siblings and parents to hood development is important help them develop their creativi- and necessary. ty and personality. In ’Playtime’ Their main goal to achieve is to parenting sessions, the goal is that provide all children with the fa- parents with young children under- cilities for quality playing and de- stand the important role of joint velopmental opportunities, help play in children’s development. them in their early socialization and Working directly with children and physical, mental, emotional devel- their parents, helps identify prob- opment, and in the long run, their lems early, helps in the acceptance achievement of school maturity. and success of the program.

7 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE GRANTED ORGANIZATIONS, PROJECTS The Roma Self-Help Association of Cserehát KidSmile

local governments, which offers programs for disadvantaged children and their parents on weekends.

Due to the limited availability of physiotherapists and mental health services locally, the program provides regular professional develop- Established in 2007, the Their members are qualified ment to local families with the in- non-profit managers, so they can volvement of external professionals. Association organizes provide professional assistance for community-building the so-called start-up organiza- In many cases, young mothers are programs in the local tions. They help established 12 oth- not fully prepared for the role of er associations in the county. Their motherhood, so they hold develop- community center, long-term goals include of a ’Roma mental sessions in parenting /child as well as outings for Resources Center’, which could act rearing care to local families during as a regional management office, the program. children, especially for bringing resources, jobs and train- those living in Tomor. ings to the area. They also help the They make their personal meetings illiterate. Organization members complete with online counselling: also played an important role in the they have created a Facebook group, establishment of the Roma Inde- in which moms can feel free to ask pendent News Agency of Cserehát. about their problems, be it parenting, administration, or legal issues. Their project aims to launch collaboration between local families in In regular gastronomy club, young Tomor, Lak, and Homrogd, allowing parents receive housekeeping and them to help one another, be better cooking tips during joint cooking, prepared for parenting. In order to but these common occasions help to build capacities for early childhood prevent mothers isolating from oth- development a “Family Day care” ers and develop their own culture of has been set up with the help of mutual support.

8 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE GRANTED ORGANIZATIONS, PROJECTS The SZETA Eger Foundation - Fund for Supporting the Poor Lets’go together! The 5th Pupil Network in Felnémet

from 13 settlements, mainly made of Roma people, with the aim of helping their social inclusion, especially children and young people. These CSOs are continuously assist- For many decades, They work with settlement families on a daily basis. In 1998, they estab- ed in their work and fundraising activities through human resource de- the Foundation has lished a settlement-type commu- velopment and knowledge transfer. been working to nity center at Béke-telep (suburb The aim of their project is to devel- promote the social of Eger), ensuring their permanent presence and accessibility. op the skills and knowledge of chil- inclusion and mobility dren born and raised in a settlement Local Roma women were involved called Béke-telep in Eger / Felnémet of people (especially in the work of the community to make up for disadvantages they Roma people) living in center. Most of them also worked as bring from home. volunteers in the organization and They deal with 4 8 years-olds in- poverty. implementation of the program. tensively (4 afternoons per week), In 2006, they started working in oth- developing their skills by using var- er communities with Roma people ious methods and techniques and living in extreme poverty and segre- expanding their knowledge and gation and professionally managed awareness. ghetto eradication programs in Szo- In addition, children aged 0-3 re- molya, Sály, and Sirok. ceive motor (physical) and cognitive Since 2011, development activities skills development in order to pre- have been launched in 7 disadvan- vent problems in school. Parents taged small settlements and settle- are also actively involved into these ment-type community centers were programs. established that became the center As a result of the project, it is expect- of village life. ed that the involved children will In 2013, the “Northern Hungary Set- perform much better at school. They tlement Network” was established, would like to monitor them for years which currently includes 16 CSOs with learning support activities.

9 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE GRANTED ORGANIZATIONS, PROJECTS The Laskó-Spring Association Let’s play and learn together!

Founded in 2013, Their aim is to create a strong local is organized for children aged 6 to community that can influence and 8, where they are taught to swim, the Laskó-Spring shape the development of the set- among other activities. Association operates tlement. They receive continuous The aim of Young parents’ and in Hevesaranyos, professional support from the SZE- TA Eger Foundation. The project pregnant moms’ biweekly group is a dead-end village helps disadvantaged parents and to expand knowledge of parenting of 590, organizing children to develop their skills and and to strengthen parenting com- expand their knowledge. There are petences, becoming a self-motivat- programs and regular activities for children in two ed group. Through family care, they providing services for age groups: with the 0-3-year-olds help parents manage their daily problems. They also organize Fami- the local community, they play movement and dexteri- ty games and they base 4-8-year- ly Day as a special event where par- a significant part of olds’ success on school by devel- ents and children can play together. which involve poor or/ oping their visual representation, These programs that address the language expression and memory, entire village strengthen commu- and Roma people. mathematical skills, attention/con- nity cohesion and develop the local centration skills. A summer camp community at the same time.

10 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE GRANTED ORGANIZATIONS, PROJECTS The Szomolya Hungarian-Roma Association Rocking you, my girl!

The organization was Most of their members are local Szomolya is located in the southern Roma who consider it important to part of Heves County. It is located 20 founded in 2015 on improve their own situation and that kilometers from Eger. The population of their community. They operate of the village is around 1,600, of which the basis of a local a community center in Szomolya, slightly less than one-third is Roma. Roma initiative with providing regular services to local Most of them have low educational families and organizing leisure and levels, are unemployed and typically the aim of improving community programs. A ghetto erad- live in poor housing conditions. Most the quality of life, ication program was implemented at of their young people drop out of the Szomolya cave dwellings and in school and they take their first, sec- social mobility cooperation with the municipality of ond or even third children at a very opportunities of Roma Sály. Garbage collecting and cleaning young age. Young Roma mothers have activities were organized in aban- a very little knowledge of the different people, representing doned cellar houses, by which they stages of child development, a child’s managed to mobilize the entire Roma age characteristics and needs. In most their interests, and cases, they know less about those community. With the aid of the entire tools and techniques that can help mediating between community, the Roma and non-Roma the development of child’s cognitive residents alongside a few volunteers, activity and exploration skills. There- them and the non- they managed to completely reno- fore, the program launched a regular vate a ‘cellar-house’ (small, dug-out Roma society (decision parenting group, in which moms can makers of the areas in cliff sides were traditional- learn a lot about parenting through ly very impoverished members of a group discussions and empower settlement). community would reside). This was themselves to be more aware of their done with the aim of restoring it for children’s activity. The program also the community, preserving a part of includes regular family assistance, so- their tradition and just adding a little cial administration, playhouse activi- more ‘life’ into the area. They are in ties and family day events. a long-lasting professional relationship with the SZETA Eger Foundation.

11 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE GRANTED ORGANIZATIONS, PROJECTS The Association of Village Builders in Bükkszentmárton Children’s Island

The organization was One third of the population in the In order to promote the proper village is Roma. This settlement is development of children, their founded in 2013 in characterized by extreme poverty, program should be focused on de- Bükkszentmárton high unemployment and the lack of veloping on children’s abilities and (population: 320) in the services and institutions. The aim parents’ parenting competences. of the organization is to develop the The aim of the project is to help the Bélapátfalva district of village. They hold regular Round Ta- children to catch up and make the Heves County. bles to discuss local problems and children succeed with regular de- to plan their future together with velopment sessions by age groups the village leadership. They organ- and a summer camp providing ize many programs: leisure activi- childhood development. ties, Children’s day, Santa Claus Cel- ebration, flea markets, quiz shows They also organize regular group and May Day picnics. The members work and training sessions for par- of the association not only have put ents and young adults, where they in a lot of voluntary work programs, can expand their knowledge and but they also contributed to their skills in parenting and child-rear- success with their own money. In ing. Family day events provide an the absence of local institutions, opportunity for the family to spend children have to go to other settle- quality time together and volun- ments for kindergarten and school teering through programs con- to learn, so parents have no daily tribute to the development of the personal contact with teachers and community. educators.

12 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE GRANTED ORGANIZATIONS, PROJECTS The Association for Community Developers and Local Social Researchers Animator Network for Roma Youth

The Association has They work with disadvantaged Their project aims to empower ac- groups, especially Roma and peo- tive Roma women and young people provided assistance ple living in extreme poverty in living in small settlements to partic- for the establishment several small settlements in Hev- ipate in the capabilities building of of several CSOs in es County (Szajla, Terpes, Pély, Roma children. They hold training Erk, Tarnalesz, Szentdomonkos, sessions for women and youngsters Eger and with the Bükkszenterzsébet.) coming from 8-10 settlements and based on the knowledge they gain involvement of Roma They work with extensive knowl- here, they become capable of hold- Intelligentsia; they edge: their members include social ing sessions for children in their own participated in a workers, social educators, IT pro- settlement. fessionals, Roma community devel- nationwide survey of opers, economists and architects. Another key element of the program Roma settlements. Studies were conducted among is a pre-school group for children people living in poverty, and a com- launched in the village of Egerbak- ta and led by a social educator with munication training program was the constant involvement. Play and organized for youth groups. An An- competition-based activities im- imator Network for Roma Youth has prove children’s skills and make been set up, and its members have parent-child relationships better. been given expertise in community Meanwhile, a community of mutual organizing. assistance has also been formed, in which it is vital that members under- stand and accept one another.

13 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE GRANTED ORGANIZATIONS, PROJECTS The Pearl of Tarna Association Tales from Szajla

The Association was Their aim is to promote the im- There are no public institutions, so provement of the social and em- children go to other settlements founded to improve ployment of the people living there for kindergarten and school. Expe- Roma people’s ability and to achieve results in the devel- rience in recent years that children to assert their interests opment and improvement of the face difficulties in completing pri- settlement. Recently, a lot of energy mary school; most of them do not of Ószalja. has been invested in community or- finish their secondary education ganization, and so, many programs because of school failures. Their were organized the Day of Szajla, aim is to ensure proper foundation Childrens’day, Sports Day and May for those skills that are required Day. They can rely on their members for good school performance. They and volunteers in organizing pro- hold development sessions on dif- grams and common thinking. Their ferent topics for children aged 2-6, members include poor and non- while parents edit and illustrate poor, Roma and non-Roma people, a storybook and learn about the but the vast majority of them are age-specific characteristics and Roma people living in Ószajla. Their needs of children. In development establishment was encouraged by camp for summer, children together the ”Seven Villages – One Network” with their parents create, talk and anti-poverty program affecting act together. During the program, several settlements in the vicinity. they welcome the whole communi- Currently, they are receiving profes- ty to the Family Day events, where sional support from the Settlement parents actively participate in quiz Network of Northern Hungary. shows, social games, and joint cooking.

14 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE GRANTED ORGANIZATIONS, PROJECTS The Association of Roma Minority Representatives and Speakers of Nógrád County Teensy-Weensy People

those who sentenced to community services) and help the prisoners settle their cases, supporting their environment.

The aim of their project is to help young children from disadvantaged families in Mátraverebély and Luc- The main goal of the They run an after school activities falva to develop their physical, men- support program (the so-called tal and social development to have organization is to tanoda) in Bátonyterenye, Kister- an equal opportunity to start school provide support out enye and operate a school network with their contemporaries from bet- of school children in Mátraverebély and Lucfalva. ter social conditions. The children and their families liv- The program does not focus its at- (oosc) and leisure ing here are struggling with many tention only on the children, but problems, with the high level of un- activities for socially working with parents is also a key employment acting as the catalyst element, creating a supportive com- disadvantaged children for the vast majority of the social munity, in which children can grow issues in the area. For a child, the and young people. and develop according to their age. Tanoda is not only a place for learn- They hold rocking activities for the ing and spending leisure time, but youngest and their mothers, where also for warming up and eating. moms can learn lullabies, nursery In many cases, the organization rhymes and games they can play runs family programs, where the and sing at home with their children. In addition to this, they hold family can spend quality time to- Baby-Mommy club activities for pre- gether forget about their prob- schoolers and their parents, where lems for a few hours. In addition parents can get help from profes- to this, they started teaching mu- sionals and one another, while kids sic; a volunteer program has been can play a variety of games. The Sto- launched. They conduct a complex ry Circle takes place with the active rehabilitation program for people involvement of parents. The entire living in settlement environment. family listens to stories together and The organization provides a pos- read them to their children, there is sibility of serving a sentence (for also a place to rent storybooks.

15 The main results of the first period of the program

16 PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION PLACES

12 PROJECTS 376 CHILDREN 12 SUPPORTED IN REGULAR ORGANIZATIONS PROGRAMMES

56 48 WEEKS OF COMMUNITY CONSTANT PROGRAMS ACTIVITIES 157 PARENTS IN REGULAR PROGRAMMES

5 CAMPS

4 EXCURSIONS/ 9 TRAININGS TRIPS

16 Presentation of the CARPATHIAN FOUNDATION – HUNGARY Member of the International Carpathian Foundation Carpathian Foundation Network

www.karpatokalapitvany.hu as the owner of the www.carpathianfoundation.org program www.romanet.hu

Established in 1995 within an international framework, The Foundation engages in grant-making programs then registered in Hungary as an independent organi- through restricted call for proposals, development zation in 2002, the mission of the Carpathian Founda- programs to support disadvantaged rural areas and tion is to improve quality of life of the people living in communities, carrying out projects and awarding the Carpathian region, to preserve the social, ethnic, scholarships. cultural and natural values of the region, to support its sustainable development, especially in border regions. Since our establishment, we have donated nearly $ 16 million to municipalities and hundreds of non-profit, non-governmental organizations.

The main strategic objective of the Foundation is to develop the region’s human resources and to reduce poverty and social exclusion in the interests of development of deprived rural areas, disadvantaged communities and minorities.

The main objectives of our current programs are to support initiatives by NGOs and local communities op- erating in disadvantaged rural areas, and vulnerable groups and disadvantaged young people, raising public awareness.

Sources used:

Zsombor Farkas (2018): Background study for the preparation of the „Building Capacities for Effective Early Childhood Development of Marginalized Roma in Hungary” program, Carpathian Founda- tion-Hungary

Special thanks to Judit Scsavnyiczki and Vincent Boone for Mária Gallai (2009): Security of early childhood development. In. their help to make this brochure available in English! Boros et al (2009) Children – Parents – Communities. Methodology recommendations for the work with children, parents and communities for employees in the Sure Start program. Methodology refe- Responsible editor and publisher: rence book, Volume 1. Children. Budapest: Institution for Sociopoli- Boglárka Bata, Carpathian Foundation-Hungary tics and Employment. pp. 43-58. http://www.feherkereszt.hu/2012/ data/userfiles/file/tudastar/gyermekkotet.pdf All rights reserved Éva Szomor (2012): Early childhood development and care– Sure Start Children Homes. In. Bass László (szerk.) (2012) After the fifth Printing: Garamond 91 Kft., Eger years. The story of a seaced action research 2006-2011. Budapest: Printed in 2019 Chances for Children Association. pp 25-34. http://www.gyere.net/ downloads/otodik_ev.pdf The Carpathian Foundation-Hungary is a „foreign funded Websites and project proposals of the supported nonprofit organization” according to the LXXVI. ACT of 2017. organizations, 2019