President of the Republic establishes foundation for children orphaned by the coronavirus

President János Áder and his wife, Anita Herczegh, are setting up a foundation to help children orphaned by the coronavirus, the President himself announced in a radio interview on Sunday.

The President said that as opposed to the first and second waves of the coronavirus epidemic, now, during the third wave, young people, including parents raising young children pass away and the children remain orphaned.

‘My wife and I have been thinking for weeks about how to help in this situation. I wondered how many families and how many children could have been affected by this epidemic: in fact, there are more than six hundred children and more than four hundred families’ – the President of the Republic underscored.

He added that the affected children should receive financial help at least until they become of age or until they get obtain a qualification, possibly a degree.

In terms of the new foundation, he said that the legal preparatory work had been completed, and the memorandum of association had already been drafted.  Legally, the founder is President Áder, his wife is a member of the board of trustees to which renowned clinical psychologist Emőke Bagdy, and noted physicist, climate change scientists Diána Ürge-Vorsatz have also been invited.

The foundation starts from a five million forints fund, which according to the President of the Republic is “their own savings”. At the same time, János Áder is confident that donations and support will come from his circle of friends and even from a wider circle.

He stressed that without the help of municipalities, mayors and scriveners the program could not be successful, as they know the affected families and what financial support is needed exactly.

János Áder also said that they thought a lot about the name of the foundation, and in the end, they chose the name of István Regőczi, because the Hungarian Catholic priest took care of orphaned children all his life, even since before the Second World War.

Source: MTI