Introducing the African-Hungarian Union

The African-Hungarian Union is an international NGO, which was founded in 2006 by the prominent members of African diaspora in Hungary with the aim of promoting cultural exchange, awareness raising and advocacy, while offering a base for development and humanitarian initiatives focusing on the African continent.

Education and Cultural Programs

Our organization has been working together with several academics specialized in African studies, thus part of our mission became to ensure the spreading of their collected knowledge. This approach resulted in several fruitful collaborations, such as the Africa Knowledge Base, which has grown into a leading project among our cultural and educational initiatives since its foundation in 2013.

Our work in this field includes cultural and educational events, such as presentations, photo exhibitions, movie nights and discussions.

Photo: GLOBS Magazine/AHU

Sensitization programs – Konipa Afrika! – Teach about Africa!

Konipa Afrika! – Teach about Africa! is a complex sensitizing program especially for children.

The main goal of the project is forming a view of Africa which is real, free from preconception or over-idealization. The program has an important role in early education for tolerance and developing sensitivity towards minorities.

Our pre-school program gives basic knowledge of different fields connected to the African continent.

In our program the children give feedback of their acquired knowledge in a playful way. 

The Elementary school program is also a one-year-long project. The lecturer teaches about Africa, especially about Nigeria in the first semester, while in the second semester they start to communicate with Africans living in Hungary, and to correspond with Nigerian students of similar age.

As a part or introduction of our program we regularly organize special “Africa-classes” or thematic “Africa-days”.

The main focus of the High school program is on building academic knowledge.

Child support programs

AHU has supported orphanages and schools in Cameroon, Madagascar, Mali, Ethiopia and Uganda in cooperation with local foundations and organizations.

We have been running these child support programs since 2010.

The initiatives focus on children in need, being orphans, handicapped, or coming from extremely poor families. These programs offer foster parent sponsorship for the donors, who can support the education and the nursing of a chosen child by a certain amount of donation on a monthly basis. We inform all our donors on a regular basis about the children’s development, their successes and difficulties, and the possible course of their future.

AHU Medical Team

Our organization operates with a base of doctors and medical professionals who volunteer to take part in our various programs for free of charge. These great people gain not only life time experiences, but through their unique knowledge, they prove to be a useful asset for our societies in the Central-European based programs as well.

AHU Medical Missions

Since 2009 more than 40 doctors and health professionals have participated in the program, and helped over 40 000 patients. The missions are short term, they usually take four to five weeks, and they are focusing on areas deprived of free health care service. In the last years we have been present in several African countries, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, Madagascar, Guinea, Malawi, and Uganda.

Photo: GLOBS Magazine/AHU

Recently AHU have started a different type of mission called “surgical medical missions” where a team of surgeons of a special field carry out operations in a hospital (so far it has been in Blantyre, Malawi).

The specialists work together with the local team of nurses and other healthcare workers for two weeks and thus, apart from saving people’s lives or changing the quality of their lives, they also create a knowledge-transfer between the Hungarian doctors and their African colleagues.

AHU Health Centers Project

Our organization together with the Hungarian Trade and Cultural Center has decided to establish health centers throughout the African continent. The objective of the project is to establish and maintain long term and sustainable health care service infrastructure in those African countries where accessibility proves to be a major issue for the population.

AHU Ambulance

In 2017 an old dream of ours came true: we managed to purchase an ambulance car, a Mercedes Sprinter with the equipment of an emergency ambulance.

With the professional support of Váradi Ambulance Service, the African-Hungarian Union has launched its ambulance service in Hungary.

The AHU Ambulance Service intends to participate in rescue work primarily under the direction of the National Ambulance Service. Additionally, it aims to accomplish short medical missions and screening tests, as well as to provide event paramedic service. We are also offering a volunteer emergency care assistant training for those who feel the courage and strength to help.

Photo: GLOBS Magazine/AHU

How can you get involved in our projects?

May you be interested in supporting the education of a child, establishing a health center or helping the AHU Medical Team, your donation will surely make a difference in the life of many in need.

CIB Bank EURO bank account: HU22 1070 0378 4470 6104 5010 0002

You can also sign up as a volunteer with AHU:

Join our team of committed professionals active in our various programs. Our association awaits doctors, physicians, health care workers, teachers and professionals from other fields who are eager to help those in need. Just fill in our online registration form here http://www.ahu.hu/hu/kapcsolat/onkentes-regisztracios-lap and you will get a response soon about how you can join us.

Written by Zsuzsa Orzói

Featured image: GLOBS Magazine/AHU

Source: GLOBS Magazine