Hungary has nearly 25,000 children and young people removed from their families. A bit of extra attention and support, be it mentoring, financial contribution or an awareness program, can change their lives for the better. Telenor highlighted the importance of this issue in its Christmas campaign using the moving story of The Little Match Girl. György Dragomán, József Attila award-winning author, created a new, positive ending for the story. People could listen to the alternative ending calling a toll-free number and Telenor contributed HUF 500 after each call made before 20 December to Gyermekhíd Foundation, a charity providing complex support to children living in children’s home through trained mentors.
“Facing trauma as a child is a horrible thing and it is even more so when children have to cope with trauma by themselves. At the Foundation, we want to provide young people living in children’s homes with predicable and supporting relationships and help them rewrite their life stories. Telenor’s campaign amplified our message that besides mental health assistance, these children need emotional support the most. The rewritten story is a symbol that healing connections can help treat trauma. In addition to raising awareness of the needs of children living in children’s homes and Gyermekhíd’s activities, the campaign also encouraged 63 volunteers to join us in 3 weeks”, said Beatris Joó, Director of Gyermekhíd Foundation.
Having matched the funds raised by the 3,579 phone calls made during the campaign, Telenor has donated HUF 8 million to the Foundation. In addition, it will donate 150 mobile phones and 6-month subscriptions to children older than 10 living in children’s homes supported by Gyermekhíd Foundation to help them keep in touch with their mentors. To facilitate the responsible use of these handsets and subscriptions, Telenor will also hold a TudatosNet training session for children and their guardians.
“We wanted to raise awareness of an important social cause this Christmas. At the end of the year, people traditionally spend more time connecting to their loved ones which is also reflected by network statistics. Many people including children removed from their families, however, don’t get more care and attention in this period either. We wanted to support them through Gyermekhíd Foundation,” said Mohamed ElSayad, Chief Commercial Officer of Telenor.
Volunteer mentors are still welcome to join Gyermekhíd Foundation by the end of January next year. The limited edition of The Little Match Girl is available in a book format until 31 December in select bookshops. The revenue collected from selling the book will also be transferred to the Foundation.
More information about joining the campaign and the availability of the books: www.monddittvagyok.telenor.hu
Video about the initiative: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4SJfus4RtU