The donation of June 2018 goes to:
Hungary Nuts – Build baby a bedroom
Introducing Julia and Gareth. They live on a smallholding in the middle of rural Hungary. They’re working to eventually become completely self-sufficient but it’s a long and slow process. They are partially there: they have solar panels, goats for milk and cheese, eggs from their chickens, ducks and geese, they grow their own fruit and vegetables. But sadly there are still always things that need buying and that’s where it gets a bit tough for them to fully follow their dream. They initially took this (massive) leap to avoid the normal constraints of living in a busy city, working 6 days a week just so they could pay their massive bills. Gareth and Julia wanted a healthier, more independent lifestyle, and both wanted to learn how to live off the land and in harmony with their surroundings.
This has all worked out well for them until now, as initially, it was just the two of them (and their menagerie of animals), but they are soon to be parents, and that changes everything. Whereas before they could be fairly happy go lucky, now they will have a little life to care for and nurture, and as I am sure everyone is aware, that requires some money or thinking outside the box. They have been lucky enough to acquire a few bits and bobs second hand, but the whole situation is extremely worrisome. Whereas some day-to-day items are cheaper in Hungary than in the UK and USA, baby items are more than double the price over there. The real concern, however, is that they have no space in their home…
Their little mud house was fine when it was just them, but a baby needs a safe space to grow up. Their home is only two rooms, a kitchen and a bedroom/lounge (yes, they currently have to eat their dinner in their bedroom!). They have drawn up a plan for an extension that will originally be their bedroom but as baby grows will be subdivided into two separate areas. It would be a completely wooden structure that would hopefully be built by July (as that is when Julia is due). If they can raise the funds to buy all the timber then Gareth will do the whole build himself, saving on all labour costs.
The other really exciting prospect is that if they have this extension ready in time it may mean they could even look into a home birth. It has only recently been legalised there so they are very strict on what a home requires, and with a newly built room, they may just be able to add to their birth plan. As it stands Julia will be going to the local government hospital where they are very pro C-sections, every woman has an episiotomy regardless, and they believe in feeding all the babies sugar water. Private care would be a better option but this is Julia’s only one realistically within their (non-existent) budget.
Your support will change their lives. It would mean they have a better home, but most importantly it would mean their baby would have a safer, happier start to their life. They have only got as far as they have through love and support from others, so this is why they have reached out.
[donated via GoFundMe]