Hungarian foundation for Covid orphans offered €494,000 support last year

The Regőczi Foundation set up by President János Áder and First Lady Anita Herczegh will provide long-term and personalised support to children who have been orphaned or semi-orphaned due to Covid-19, the First Lady said on Friday.

Detailing the work carried out by the foundation in the past year, Herczegh told a conference that the Regőczi Foundation aimed to support children until they reached adulthood or completed their studies and began working.

This means that the foundation plans to be active for around 20 years, she said, adding that this required it to raise hundreds of millions of forints for its operations each year.

Herczegh said the foundation provided personalised support to children, offering them, among other things, scholarships, housing and social aid or financing transport fees.

The foundation also cooperates with the biggest Hungarian charity organisations, such as the Hungarian Red Cross, the Catholic Caritas, the Hungarian Baptist Aid, the Hungarian Interchurch Aid, the Hungarian Reformed Church Aid, the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta and the Charity Council, she said.

The Regőczi Foundation last year provided 176 million forints’ (EUR 494,100) worth of support to 1,004 children, Herczegh said. The foundation has so far received 1,200 applications, she said.

The foundation set up in spring 2021 was named after István Regőczi, a Catholic priest who took care of orphaned children throughout his life in the interwar period.