Igazgyöngy: The Real Pearl Foundation

I am very lucky to live in the middle of bustling Budapest. My apartment has appliances, heating, and running water, and there are countless stores, restaurants, and cafés within a stone's throw of my doorstep. Every day, something different is going on, from parades and protests to festivals and fairs. My life here is not so drastically different from life in the United States (just with more walking, less obesity, and a distict lack of tacos.)

However, many people in Hungary do not live like I do. Outside of the city, especially out in the countryside, there are entire towns that lack running water and basic grocery stores. Last week, I, together with a few other Fulbrighters, traveled to the far  east part of Hungary to visit a foundation that works in places like this.

The organization is called Igazgyöngy, or Real Pearl Foundation. It began as an art school and has since branched out into community development work (through art and otherwise) in underdeveloped areas of Hungary. Last week, a group of Fulbrighters and I, together with a representative from the Embassy, took a cushy Embassy car out to the town of Berettyóujfalu, where the foundation has its headquarters. There, we learned about some of the work they do, from artwork to social work and community programming. Afterwards, we visited Told, a village that is home to their pilot program. We toured the village and the Real Pearl's community house in the area.

The village of Told was tiny, and I say that as someone who spent two years in Mavudzi-Ponte, Mozambique. Told is home to less than four hundred people. There is no store, the houses are all in various states of disrepair, and the inhabitants (most of whom are of the Roma minority ethnic group) live in extreme poverty.

What impressed me most about the work of the Real Pearl Foundation was their attitude. Instead of coming in and deciding unilaterally what the community needs (the pitfall for so many "development" organizations), the staff of the Real Pearl Foundation work closely with members of the community, as equals, to do needs assessments and respond with adequate programming. The two staff members that we met with were originally from the area and had no intent to leave anytime soon. We were able to watch a community meeting, and the rapport between the Real Pearl staff and the community members of Told was easily visible.

Here are some photos of our visit. There are more photos on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

Some of the art that the Real Pearl children made.

"Pearl One" community house in Told.

The village of Told. This is most of it.