Cheryl Mader, Cathy Statz, and Sharon Bradish traveled to Budapest in April 2023 on a Rotary Friendship Exchange. While there, they were hosted by 4 of the 10 Rotary Clubs in Budapest. One of those clubs, The Rotary Club Budapest-City, has undertaken a tremendous initiative by opening a school for Ukrainian refugee children and hiring Ukrainian refugee teachers. More details are in the narrative below. Our club along with Madison West Middleton and Mount Horeb is spreading the word to raise funds for next year’s school expansion. Anyone can donate by going to rotary6250.org and choosing the foundation tab. On the foundation page is a tab that says Donate Now. Then the donor can follow the directions on the donate page. It is very important that in the box that says Use this donation for that the donor chooses Ukrainian-Hungarian Budapest School from the dropdown menu.
Another way to donate is to send a check written to Rotary District 6250 Foundation, Inc., memo Ukrainian-Hungarian Budapest School mail to:
Rotary District 6250 Foundation
c/o Brian Watson
4030 E. Stone Ridge Dr
Milton, WI 53563
We believe that the writing of the global grant will be finished sometime in February and when it gets approval, Rotary Members who wish to get Paul Harris donation credit should donate at The Rotary Foundation. They can donate online using Global Grant GG2457939 or by completing The Rotary Foundation Contribution Form which includes the Global Grant# and mailing the form and check to:
The Rotary Foundation
14280 Collections Center Drive
Chicago, IL 60693
Imagine that you are a nine-year old child who has fled the war-torn area of Ukraine with your mother and siblings and very few possessions. You are happy to leave the destruction behind and to head for safety. You are sad because your father is staying behind to fight for your country’s right to exist. Where will you live? Where are you going? You and your family are going to Budapest, the capital of the neighboring country of Hungary. How will you manage? You don’t know Hungarian, a language that is not at all similar to your native language. After you get to your new home you will enroll in a Hungarian school or attempt to keep up your studies with an online Ukrainian school. Both present problems. Not knowing Hungarian is a big obstacle to progressing in your studies. You won’t understand your teachers as you slowly try to acquire this strange, new language. The Ukrainian remote schools are hampered by lack of electricity and the Internet. Then you hear about a school in Budapest that is teaching Ukrainian refugee children in their language with the blessing of the Ukrainian Education Ministry and even has certified Ukrainian teachers who are also refugees.
This school has become a reality in Budapest. The Rotary Club of Budapest- City opened a school in September 2023 for 130 Ukrainian children grades 5 – 11 and 60 preschoolers. Sponsors for this school include Rotary District 1911, Rotary District 5420, Rotary Club of Budapest-City, Rotary Club of Budapest-Center, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Rotary Club of Scottsdale, Rotary Club of Moab, Rotary Club of Goodyear Pebble Creek, Rotary Club of Kingston, and the Rotaract Club of Budapest International. In January 2024 a second shift will be added in the current school building which will allow 120 more Ukrainian refugee students to attend this school. The classes will be taught in Ukrainian and there will be a Hungarian language class.
The Rotary Club of Budapest-City will be applying for a Rotary Global grant to expand the school to 700 students in September of 2024. Funding will be supported by the Hungarian government and sponsors. The school will be bilingual and all teacher and student data will be submitted to the Hungarian Ministry of Education. The Rotary Club of Budapest is asking fellow Rotarians to provide funding for equipment for the new school. What is needed? Chalk boards, Smart Boards, desks, chairs, cabinets, kitchen equipment. The budget for these items is estimated at $240,000 USD. We are calling on all Rotarians and Rotary Clubs of District 6250 to embrace this service project sponsored by five of our clubs. How did we get connected to this school? In April of 2023 Rotary District 6250 sponsored a group of 11 on a Rotary Friendship Exchange. The group was hosted by four of the Rotary Clubs in Budapest. The group had the privilege of meeting Viktoria Griessmüller, the president of The Rotary Club of Budapest-City Center. Viktoria is originally from Ukraine and this project is very important to her personally.