Basket contents
Basket contents
When you think of a childhood, you probably don't think of no breakfast, of siblings wearing one shoe after another, or of a small child wondering how to help out at home when there's not enough money. But in Hungary today, tens of thousands of children live like this. It's not their fault. Not because their parents don't want them to. It is because some families have much less - of opportunity, of support, of attention. In Hungary today, more than 300,000 children live in poverty or on the verge of it.
Child poverty is not just about who earns how much. It's also about the kind of school a child goes to, the role models they see around them, and whether they can learn to be valuable - even if they have a harder start. Is it also about whether you believe you have a future? And whether there is someone to confirm it?
At the Experience Warehouse, we see every day that disadvantage does not equal inertia. That with a little attention, a supportive community, a meaningful conversation or even a well-timed experience, you can make a big difference. We also know that the power of children is amazing. How much they can take, how curious they are, and how much they can shine when you believe in them.
But we also see that we cannot do it alone. Not for the families, not for the schools, not for the helpers. And we don't have to do it alone. Child poverty is an issue that is a shared responsibility. Because not only the present, but also the future depends on it. The kind of country we will be living in in ten or twenty years' time. Whether a generation grows up that can connect, think, create - or one that is left behind as a child.
"It's important to talk about it" - not out of fear or pity, but with clarity and honesty. To notice those we may have passed by. To ask, to connect, to act. It doesn't require doing huge things. It is enough to open the door once in a while. If we give it a chance. If we don't believe that "it's always been this way".
We believe that no child should miss out on something that builds, brings joy or starts them on their journey. And that it can't be done alone - only together. Together, many, mindfully.
Because every child has the right to live his or her childhood. And every adult has the opportunity to make that happen.
English 
Hungarian