A Hungarian charitable organization will sponsor the creation of a rehabilitation center for former prisoners in the Horadok district

The Vitebsk region was visited by the Goodwill Ambassador of the charitable organization "Hungarian Interchurch Aid", the wife of the Prime Minister of Hungary, Anikó Lévai.

The visit of Mrs. Anikó Lévai lasted two days. The delegation also included the President-Director of "Hungarian Interchurch Aid" László Lehel, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Hungary to Belarus Vilmos Sziklavári, and other representatives of the diplomatic mission and the charitable organization.

It is symbolic that the arrival of the church humanitarian mission to the Vitebsk region coincided with the IV European Orthodox-Catholic Forum held in Minsk, which discussed the preservation of Christian values and joint efforts of the church and state in the resocialization of people in difficult life situations.

– Our organization has extensive experience in this area, and we would like to share it with Belarusians, – said Mr. László Lehel.

In particular, it is about creating a rehabilitation center for former prisoners in the village of Selo, Gorodok district, on the basis of a monastery farmstead. Similar projects are also being implemented in Grodno and Gomel. "Hungarian Interchurch Aid" plans to allocate about 250 thousand euros for these purposes. As explained by Nikolai Matrunchik, director of the interdenominational mission "Christian Social Service", which represents the Belarusian side in the international project, the center will be involved in cattle breeding and collecting medicinal herbs. Appropriate equipment will be installed here in the near future, and specialists will be invited. This is the first joint project in the field of rehabilitation of people in difficult social situations.

The resocialization of an individual is a complex process that includes a set of spiritual, moral, legal, organizational, psychological, educational, and other measures of influence on former convicts. And without the joint efforts of all social institutions, it will be difficult to achieve positive results, emphasized Nikolai Matrunchik. Currently, more than 60% of convicts in Belarus re-enter the path of crime after release.

This was also discussed at a meeting between the Hungarian delegation and the First Deputy Chairman of the Regional Executive Committee Gennady Grebnev and Deputy Chairman Vladimir Terentyev.

During the conversation, the guests learned about the economic, social, and cultural potential of the Vitebsk region and outlined prospects for cooperation. For the first quarter of this year, the trade turnover between our region and Hungary amounted to only 4 million dollars, and there is still no single enterprise with Hungarian capital.

The situation needs to change – this conclusion was reached by Gennady Grebnev and Mr. Vilmos Siklári. A step towards this will be the participation of the Vitebsk delegation in the economic forum planned for October, and the Days of Hungarian Culture in Minsk scheduled for the latter half of June, as well as the invitation of Vilmos Siklári to the "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk", within the framework of which not only cultural but also business contacts are established.

At the end of the meeting, Ms. Anikó Lévai shared her impressions of Vitebsk:

– Walking around the city, I met many young mothers with strollers. For me, a mother of five children, this is very pleasant and a good sign that the state is prosperous.

She also expressed hope that friendly relations between our countries will not end after the completion of the two-year project.

Tatyana Pasternak, "Vitebskiye Vesti"