In eastern Hungary, two women with the same name fight their own way both poverty and the most tolerated form of racism in Europe. In these secluded villages, inhabitants are mainly Roma people. In order to teach poor families’ children how to value learning, Nóra L. Ritók created 14 years ago a school based on arts and talents development. Three years ago, Nóra Feldmár was finishing her studies of industrial ecology and joined Nóra’s organization with a plan: to assist villagers in the establishment of a construction field of biomass briquettes. She strongly believes that the mastering of a technology, even a simple one, can change life and relations between people.
Translation: Manon Pierre
(3/3)
© Igazgyöngy Alapítvány (Real Pearl Foundation)
After a few hours in Told, the
two reporters brought us back to Budapest, Nóra Feldmár and I. On the way, I plunged back in what I had just seen and felt. In this small village, apart
from the construction field of biomass briquettes, I visited a place dedicated
to young people with computers and a theater stage. A sewing and embroidery workshop
is established next to it and two women from the village are in charge of it.
Thanks to the development of these handmade and agricultural activities, the prospect
for the inhabitants to make a living out of their income becomes more and more tangible.
2014 brings some good news. In Told, the construction field of
briquettes and the one of the reinforcement of the houses insulation are going
on. The inhabitants also built henhouses with recycled materials. Women attend
lessons to learn how to cook in a healthy and economical way, and also how to
take care of toddlers. Nóra L. Ritok wrote to me that “Regular meetings, cultural, artistic, and educational programs make the village more and more collaborative”.
The local partners frequently call for the know-how of the organization in
handling with sensitive situations, and now even the government presents the
work accomplished by the Real Pearl Foundation as a good practice.
In Told, I was stroke by the overall pleasant atmosphere, but also by
the easy contact Nóra F. had with women. I felt frustrated not being able to talk with
them directly. There was obviously the obstacle of Hungarian language, but not
only. My visit was too short. I am used to European big cities where everyone believes this is normal to optimize time, to go fast and straight to
the point. There, time has a different consistency.
In fact, it is undoubtedly where the success of the NGO’s projects, including
the biomass briquettes project, lies on. The team accepts to comprehend this
time, this place and these people within their particularity. "Problems can’t be solved in Budapest" Nóra
L.R tells me, “We have to solve these
problems here, together”. In Hungary, there are plenty of poor villages mostly
populated by Roma people, like Told. However, while focusing on the small area
of Berettyóújfalu, the Real Pearl Foundation equips itself with the
means to achieve something. I can see at least four reasons why such a process can be successful:
- To settle somewhere and to spend time on it allows a better understanding of the site and of its people. This also leads to the identification of the needs and of the levers that can be used to improve the situation;
- This diagnosis is supported by crossed knowledge: the organization shares its view and skills (educative, social, artistic, ecological…) while soliciting with humility the expertise of the citizens, whom are more legitimate to speak about their own lives, about their daily difficulties or eventual conflicts, about their needs and hopes. Thanks to a continuous dialogue, everyone is part of a challenging process. Everyone can participate and listen to the others and thus enrich his/her own vision.
- The Real Pearl Foundation does not want to do in place of the people. With a benevolent attitude, the NGO offers opportunities. However, the dynamic can only be efficient if the inhabitants seize it. And, like in any other project, this is when they start that people begin to gain confidence and are then able to measure the impacts of their action.
- The approach chosen is the one of small steps. Briquettes are assembled one by one, something is tested and adjusted depending on the constraints of the site, then other possibilities are identified and innovation can finally be introduced.
From her experience in Told, Nóra F.
especially values this dimension: “You read a lot about the necessity to involve the
community, but it’s really nice when you are there and you actually see that,
yes, it’s really the way it should be done. Now,
I can really say that they are great people, that they have a lot of skills and
qualities, because I have seen them do this and that, and come up
with solutions. And I know it can be really great to work with them”.
Nóra F. considers
that she has everything to learn from a confrontation with the “real world”. She
says she now understands better what poverty is, in a more concrete manner: ”Poverty around you… You get used to it, in a way, but sometimes it really
hits you”. She humbly confesses that her own project management needs to
be improved. “Until then, I have acted
by intuition, I was very lucky to be supported by the foundation, which works
in a stable way here.” Intuitively, but also because she thought a lot on the
subject due to her master thesis, Nóra has found the right positioning.
Along with
several teammates and based on her experience in Told, Nóra would like to assist other poor
villages in Hungary with projects development. She offers to help villagers to
introduce some simple ecological technologies likely to improve their daily
lives, without claiming to know from the beginning how to do it. Such a project
is made possible by the close cooperation with the inhabitants, whom know their
land and needs, but also with local organizations, so that the project can be part
of a global and long-run development strategy. Having such a project, Nóra assumes
and demonstrates in a tangible way that everywhere, even in the most
marginalized places of Europe, we can find gold.
Visit the website of the Real Pearl Foundation to know more.
In 2013, Nóra Feldmar and the biomass briquettes project were awarded by the SozialMarie Foundation: read here.
2nd part: Art and courage for children's future
