My name is Rudolf Kutas and I am retired. I moved from Budapest to the village of Átány 16 years ago. Within a few weeks of arriving here, I began to see the living conditions of the Roma minority. I started working with the children and turned the summer kitchen into a community space. After school, the children would happily come to me. We would help each other with that day’s homework and then play. Board games, beadwork, craft activities, outdoor games, etc. Unfortunately, politics intervened, as the mayor threatened the children’s parents that if their children came to see me, they would not be given public works jobs. Consequently, the children began to miss the group sessions regularly. Eventually, they no longer dared to come. My partner and I did, however, find occasions when we could spend time with them. One such occasion was Easter, when we organised an egg hunt for them, or the Children’s Day competition, which, having agreed in advance with the director of the community centre, we planned to hold in the centre’s garden; the mayor did not grant permission. so, based on my written request, which he authorised with his signature, we were forced to hold it at the village’s reclaimed landfill site. I could write at length about all the ways I have tried to help the minority living here, but at present their livelihood is the biggest concern. I am sometimes able to obtain clothing for them from donations, but this does not really improve their quality of life. I would like to use the funds you have sent primarily to support the children by taking them to places where they are exposed to different environmental influences, thereby developing their self-awareness. Of course, a certain amount would also need to be set aside for food, as their parents have no regular income, so it happens that they go without eating for days on end. Furthermore, I would like to organise creative community-building activities that foster a close-knit community of people who wish to lead a different kind of life as adults.

This is a major problem, and I would be grateful for your help in this matter.

Rudolf Kutas

6 Vezér Street, Átány

+36 30 140 1920