Carpathian basin cooperation for single-parent families

The Association of Hungarian Women's Interests for Culture and Tourism jointly organized the XVII. A women's meeting in the Carpathian Basin in the Vintop Karko theater in Búcs, where a conference with an award ceremony was held about families who have to deal with everyday life alone and face such difficulties as single-parent child-rearing and responsible single-parent family management.

Kinga Szőnyi , who has been active as the president of the Association of Hungarian Women for ten years, in her greeting greeted with a grateful heart the members of all the Christian-minded civil organizations who, together with Ilona Ékes, the dreamer of the association's 23-year existence, celebrate the strength and perseverance of women every year.

As he explained,

today, the women's association at the level of the Carpathian basin, together with Vojvodina, Transylvania and Austria, has organizations that can be confidently relied on, since sensitive women work daily to unite these small active groups and create a big one together.

In his speech, he once again pointed out that the message of the 23 years since its founding, "Like the woman, like the family, like the family, like the society" - is even more relevant today than ever. After all, a woman and a man can create great things by complementing each other, that's the only way people pass on the life they received from the Lord God.

Single-parent families in Slovakia

Andrea Hideghéthy , executive director of the SZAKC, asked the audience to think for a moment about how a parent can alone solve all the tasks and situations that two people, a man and a woman, should take on.

He then highlighted that Slovakia has one of the lowest percentages of households where a single parent is raising a child or children within the EU. Which means that out of all households with children, single-parent families have a share of about nine percent, which means about 58,000 families. Of these, 4 percent of women and 0.7 percent of men form single-parent families with their children. Regarding the financial situation of these families, it can be said that the living conditions of single-parent families in Slovakia are one of the worst in the European Union, and the coronavirus epidemic has further aggravated this. Eurostat data also show that the income of this group fell by around ten percent last year.

Especially single mothers belong to the most vulnerable group in Slovakia. The poverty of single-parent families is significantly higher than the national average.

The Association for Common Goals do not directly address single-parent families, but they provide an opportunity to participate and share a sense of belonging with these special needs families.

The goal is to improve the situation of single-parent families

Tünde Fűrész, president of the Mária Kopp Institute for Population and Families, presented the situation of single-parent families in Hungary in the light of the numbers, emphasizing that since 2010 the number of single-parent families has decreased by 100,000. Today, three out of four children have married parents and the per capita income of single-parent families has increased by 77%.

the Carpathian Basin

Zsuzsanna Márton, president of the KCSSZ, presented the situation of single-parent families in the Carpathian basin. He said that only 55 percent of people in the European Union live in a so-called traditional nuclear family, which consists of a mother, father and one or more children, and in most European countries every fifth family is a single parent, in 85-90 percent of cases this parent is the mother. He then said in his Carpathian basin outlook:

In Serbia, in the Southern Region, the single parent is unable to provide adequate living conditions for his family. Single parents are not specifically recognized as users of social protection services such as psychosocial assistance and support services.

In Ukraine, in Transcarpathia , according to the current law on mobilization, men between the ages of 18 and 60 who alone raise at least one child under the age of 18 have the right to leave Ukraine and do not have to perform military service, so in many families the parents are divorced and the mother resigned in court about her rights as a mother to "save" her husband from military service.

Regarding Romania and Transylvania , he said that the absence of one parent visibly reduces the family's income, so it is important that the parent living with the child knows what rights the single-parent family has, which will help them find a solution to manage expenses more easily.

In Slovakia, in the Highlands, the proportion of single-parent families is 9%. This ratio also shows more favorable conditions compared to the member states of the European Union, but unlike Romania, the regulations and legal background for single-parent families have not been developed here. No financial or other discounts apply to them.

in Hungary, despite the social benefits, he said that according to the reports, they are struggling with significant financial problems, which their member organizations are trying to alleviate in the form of various assistance.

In addition to financial problems, he reported other difficulties, such as the fact that in the absence of a grandparent, there is no one to take care of the child at home, during the summer holidays it is very difficult to solve the supervision of the children, and in families without a father, there is no one to do even the smallest home installation work. .

Single Parents Club

The last speaker of the conference Anna Nagy , the president of the Single Parents Club Foundation, who emphasized that she opened the Single Parents Center in 2018, which is considered a pioneering initiative not only in Hungary, but also internationally. Single parents are offered free practical help and regular programs. At the same time, they provide the opportunity to visit groups led by various specialists - coaches, psychologists, trainers - and can also provide competent assistance in legal and labor matters.

In the centers operating in Buda and Pest, the children are helped with tutoring every afternoon, with the help of which they can experience learning not as an obligation, but as an experience. "We believe that both as a single parent and as a child growing up in a single-parent family, everyone has the right to equal chances and opportunities."

The conference summarized important information for social and civil organizations, pointing out that there are many single-parent families in our environment who need help and support.

The Association of Hungarian Women's Interests has announced a fundraiser in connection with the Women for Peace charity campaign, with which they intend to help the current school conditions of Hungarian and Ukrainian children studying in educational institutions operating in Transcarpathia.

If you would like to support this noble initiative with your donation: OTP Bank account number of the Association of Hungarian Women's Interests: 11704007-22040932

Source: Tímea Németh/ Felvidék.ma / Mária Kopp Institute for Population and Families

Photos: Péter Mészáros / Civilek.info