In May of 2013, we visited the village of Vése, home of approximately 700 people, mostly Roma. Our project entailed spending two weeks partnering with a small local church that serves the community. There is a barn on their property that they envision being transformed into a comfortable space with four walls that would protect people from the elements, have access to an indoor bathroom and also have a special room for the children. The church will use the space to continue building relationships with their neighbors, giving them a place to meet, providing meals, and serving the community more effectively.

We helped to demolish the existing structure and made significant progress in the bathroom and children’s room, leaving the completion of the construction project to our partners that remained in Hungary.  With our financial support, they will hire both skilled and general local Roma labor to bring employment to the community of Vése.

While we were still in Vése we visited the local schools to stress the importance of education, performed maintenance in neighboring homes, and provided needed food, clothing, and basic necessities to people.

On our last day there, we threw a party for the community, inviting them to celebrate with us.  It was a huge success and over 150 children came!  They really enjoyed all the activities that we’d planned for them, and just as we did in Kékcse, we had a big BBQ on the new stone grill and provided food for everyone there. We had a blast and are looking forward to visiting the people of Vése again soon.

Photo Credit: Jacob Burke, Tóth Gabi, Gilicze Tamás