Maintenance in the 10th district local government institutions is also an important job of the service center employees and volunteers. Since May, food kitchens have also been distributing food, however, this distribution has been done in tents. 

Miletics Marcell also spoke of their end goal, to build a complex help center in the area. He added that they asked those, who came to them, what are other necessities that they have. Among the most frequently repeated answers were washing of clothes, bathing, haircuts, and a change of clothes, but of course there is a large demand for social work and church services.

Kovács Róbert (Fidesz-KDNP), the mayor of Kőbánya, emphasized in his address that those less fortunate can only be efficiently helped through a united effort. "The non-government organizations, the churches, and the local governments need to unify their efforts,” he said, adding that the Baptist Service Center is a good example to this collaborate effort as it was created in an estate in the property of the local government, with over 5 million HUF support from the this governmental institution,and created by the Baptists.

Kovács Róbert emphasized, “The people less fortunate who work at the plant, while helping each other, they also help others less fortunate, which is a particular feature to this program. This makes the help at the plant a different quality than in other programs.”

Papp János, the president of the Hungarian Baptist Union, said that in 1905, after hundreds of years of fighting for it, the Baptist church was finally recognized by the state of Hungary and a year later the first social institution was established, a nursery home and an orphanage, and later public kitchens throughout the country were established.” He described it as important and joyful that 110 years later, the Baptist church is still part of the lives of those in need living in Budapest and in the 10th district. 

Papp János added, they would like to provide not only occasional, but continuous and progressive support, which includes housing, feeding, provision of jobs, and spiritual support. 

Kutiné Ádám Szilvia, the director of the Baptist Service Center, said that 32 people work in the plant, 28 out of these people within the realms of the common employment program. She added that volunteers also help in food distribution and work done in local government institutions.

History

We received the area used in the program along with the buildings on it from the owner, the local government of Kőbánya, to use free of charge. The aid organization undertook the guarding of the estates and the care taking of its gardens, which is within the framework of the country’s common employment program, this being the first step of the program.

The birth of the Service Center

The utilizing of the estate was a step-by-step process and brought us closer to the unfolding of our new program’s plans. As a result of numerous professional teams and coordinating meetings a unified agreement was born, thus we received the permission of the local government for the commissioning of our utility lines, the fencing of the used area. Further, there was permission given to renovate the building which allowed us to move our public kitchen service here, which feeds 500 each day.  We were able to integrate a dishwasher into the service which makes our services environmentally friendly as we do not produce new waste by using plastic plates like previously done.

We are able to take care of common tasks thanks to the common employment program, so besides the care taking of public areas and collecting of waste, we also take care of the maintenance of the institutions belonging to the local government in the district.

Later, the area and building available to us with the addition of two other buildings opened new opportunities to those within the common employment program. We were able to make new agreements with the local government, which the Kőkert Kft. also joined, enabling the beginning of a new branch of this program through which we were able to open a wood processing plant. The work that used to be done entirely by hand now also involves machines which raised the Maglódi street plant to a new level, those in need helping those in need. 

This is the Baptist Service Center’s most important goal and job, helping those in need in a way that others in need— homeless common employed people, can also actively take part in, with which a very special community program with a social goal was formed. 

Further Goals

The Service Center would like to continue helping those in need in the future through this special community format. We’ve done surveys asking what the less fortunate families in the area need, so our future goals include the establishment of personal hygiene spots, barber shops free of charge, the opportunity for receiving a change of clothes, and to answer the high demand for church services.

Our goal is to provide response to these needs in a way that beyond just providing work opportunities with the addition of the professional experience and work of the Hungarian Baptist Aid, could be utilized for the benefit of those in need in all forms of social work (community, group, and personal).

Much thanks to all the contributing organizations, colleagues, partakers, but especially the leadership of the local government of the 10th district for the possibility of the Service Center to be established which, according to our hopes, can help improve the life of even more, primarily 10th district individuals and families which then directly serves the entire community.