Hello! My name is Jackie Bannerman and I am a PCC young adult intern working in Budapest for 8 months with the Reformed Church of Hungary. I spend the majority of my time working at Kalunba, the RCH’s refugee ministry implementing organization. So far I have started teaching English to refugees and translating for those coming from French-speaking African countries. I also spend some time at the national church office where I help with communications projects, such as coordinating with international delegates for the Starpoint Festival this summer. In addition, I spend two afternoons a week at an after school program for Roma youth, where I lead activities and English programming.

I was fortunate enough to join Glynis Williams and Ian Ross-McDonald on a trip to Debrecen last week, where we celebrated 500 years since the Reformation with many other international guests. We enjoyed a beautiful service in the Great Reformed Church in Debrecen and learned about the Reformation’s lasting impact on Hungary. We then went just across the Hungarian border to Ukraine, where we learned from the Bishop of the Sub-Carpathian Reformed Church and PCC partners David and Anna Pándy-Szekeres about their work with Roma people. We caught a glimpse of the extreme poverty they live in while visiting a high school and primary school for Roma children.

During my short time here, I have already learned a lot about the struggles refugees in Hungary face due to the government’s removal of social assistance and their discrimination from the general public. I am also learning about the discrimination of Roma people and how, even though they are marginalized, they are still generally more accepted and supported than refugees in Hungarian society. I am learning about the extreme privilege I have in comparison to many of the people I work with simply because of where I was born and what language I grew up speaking. It has only been a few weeks, so I am looking forward to what I will learn and how I will grow by the end of my time here.