After our day of tours it was time to begin classes and go in depth on the topic of Social Entrepreneurship. Monday's class started with a brief introduction to Hungary and its history by a local Hungarian university student. After discussing the history of Hungary we took a brief break before meeting with Malcolm Hayday. 

Malcolm Hayday is the CEO of Charity Bank Limited which is based in the UK. Charity Bank is the first bank in the world that is not for profit and lends only to NGO's (Non-Govenment Organizations). Malcolm explained how even though people are not receiving the same interest rates as a high end commercial bank it is because of the knowledge that the money is helping people that the company has been so successful. 

We were off to a great start to the week and it continued that night when we had dinner with Sandor Koles who is the co-founder of Rural Workshop Foundation. Sandor spoke to us about the work that Rural Workshop Foundation is doing to improve the lives of those in need throughout poverty stricken communities. It was great getting to hear stories of how the smallest things can change the lives of those who are less fortunate, examples to come. 

Tuesday started off with an early morning train ride to Etyek. Etyek is a small village about 45 minutes outside of Budapest by bus. We arrived and were greeted by a member of the Rural Workshop Foundation who led us to the headquarters which was a re-purposed country home with amazing historical detail in each wing.

Once in the home we sat down and were greeted again by Marta Marczis, Sandor's wife and co-founder. Marta gave us a presentation on the Rural Workshop Foundation and told us stories of her personal experiences helping the less fortunate. Once story she told us involved a gift as small as a soccer ball and cleats for a small village. This gift was thought of as useless and a waste of funds but after 6 years that small village has experienced increases in people working outside the village and education levels. The reason is that something as simple as soccer was able to teach people to work together and led to the openings of schools and groups to help establish the community. Once we were finished meeting we were taken to lunch in the village at a local restaurant. Below is a picture of the village as seen from our table. 

Needless to say it was an amazing experience and we are all looking forward to what the rest of the trip has in store for us.

Posted By: Micaehl