Lobby

The advocacy activities of the MVGYOSZ
The federation’s mission and service

The federation’s job is to find and creating chances whic can provide the equal oppurtinities for the visually impaired. In it’s advocacy mission takes part int he preparation of legal previsions which is abt te visualy impaired, monitors their proper eforcement and for this purpose t keeps close contact with the public and social organs which are responsible for the imlementation.
With it’s events, publications and with using the media it evolves a propr propaganda for the understanding and the resocialisation of the blind and the visually impared people. In the MVGYOSZ member organisations the personalised advocacy is realised too, they are ensuring the conditions to formate and operating various professional and cultural groups as the membreship reqiures it.
During it’s operation the federation supplies a lot of tasks and provides services which are in the membership’s behooved civil rights. It maintains an audio-recording studio, and the country’s only Braille-press, which produces books and magazin sin dot-writing. As a natural consequense it maintains the audio- and Braille-library. In it’s capabilities it provides learning books for the elementary and secoundary education’s learners, and for the university learners it grants educational assistance. It maneges the acquisition and sale of the aid-items for the blind, and making efforts for the expansion of the range. Maintains the country’s oly resort, where only visually impaired persons and their guides can be refered, and organising other holiday possibilities for them. The Dogschool trains guide dogs for the blind people, who need them in their life. The rural organizations making preferential trade fairs for their membership.
The federation and it’s member-organizations are trying to organize – mainly from tender sources – courses, which the visually impaired people can find jobs easier on the open labor market.

Social benefits
In Hungary the caretaking of the visually impaired is mainly a public task since 1949. The aim of the social benefits is to make the social inclusion easier for the blind and particularly sighted people. The monetary social benefits are ad hoc, or permanent. The most essencial social benefit is the blind’s personal superannuation, which is behooved to every blind people in every mounth. The amount of it is variable ont he basis of weather the behooved is retired or active worker. In 1998 the Disaability Support has been established, which is behooved to every severely handicapped people, so the severely visually impaired people can require it.
The visually impaired employees have 5 days additional holidays, and have personal income tax reliefs.
If the right exists, the visually-impaired persons may receive an invalidity pension or disability allowance. The disability pensioner blind people can claim free public medical care.
Severely visually impaired completely free of charge for local travel, long-distance travel in a 90% discount.
Under certain conditions, each employer eligible for an endowment, if they employing disabled persons.
The blind people doing physical work with reduced working hours.

Liaison with the various institutions working in order for visually impaired people
In our xountry the visually pimaired students primary education is realized in the blind’s Primary School in Budapest in segregated and integrated ways. Fort he particularly sighted there is a primary school in Budapest and Debrecen. Fort he poeple with multiple disabilities the catolic church maintains an institute. Fort he children under 6 years there is a kindergarten too in Budapest. In all of the four institutes the most of the sutdents are inhabiters, but they can make their learnings in a daily extern too. But about the half of the visually impaired students are learning in normasl schools with the healthy students.
The special schools is in a close and regular contact with our federation. The children who are above their 14th year can be members of our organization. The „School Boards” which are wirkong in the special schools, which members are parents, teachers and the students themselves, are in regular work relationship with the federation. One of the federation’s main tasks is to provide chances for the students who had finished the elementary school, further education and vocational training opportunities, preferably in the form of integrated education.
In order to provide appropriate training in primary schools special remedial teachers are teaching, who have qualified for the subjects, as well.
In Hungary the special remedial teachers and the tifloteachers are trained ont he Bárczi Gusztav Special Education Teacher training College. The special education curse is a diverse area, so to unite them the Hungarian Association of Remedial Teachers (MAGYE) had established. Every organization who are owrking with disability people are a member of it. Our organization is the member of the visually impared section. The section is responsible for broadcast the problems of disabled and professional lighting of the theme for the public.
In Hungary the most of the visually impaired are living and working integrated int he society. Only 3% of the visually impaired people needs institutional placement. In our country there are 5 institutes like this. Institutional capacities have been set up for: students, workers, elderly people and people with with severe disabilities. Our federation provides for their proper functioning a professional help. In order to achieve the effective representation, the federation maintains daily contact with the various dominant governmential and social organizations.

Cultural and spare time possibilities
The visually impaired people has different needs and interests, so to serve theese neeeds and interests, different groups has been established.
The federation’s job is to provide a framework for these needs, creating the material conditions for their operation.
The blind people working in different jobs would like to spend their free time in focus groups. Thus was formed the masseurs and telephoner’s focus group.
In their spare time to the visually impaired people would like to play sports. The Wesselenyi Sports is operating inder the federation, with a departments of the following: tourist, chess, goalball, athletics.
The Hungarian blind and visually impaired athletes are competoining in international competitions for decades and in extremely active in organizing the tournaments.
The tourist department garantees a safe opportunity for visually impaired people who like traveling and hiking in Hungary and the surrounding countries.
We hope that after reading the above you are interested in the Hungarian federation of the Blind and particularly Sighted’s activity,

Dr. Laszlo Szőke
The President of the Hungarian Federation of the Blind and Particularly Sighted

Hungarian Federation of the Blind and Particularly Sighted
1146 Budapest, Hermina street 47.

Blind’s Primary School and Youth Hostel
1146 Budapest, Ajtósi Dürer sor 39.

Particularly Sighted’s Primary School and Youth Hostel
1147 Budapest, Miskolczi street 77.

Dr. Aladar Kettesy School and Youth Hostel
4024 Debrecen, Lóverseny street 3,

Blind’s batthány Laszlo Children’s
Roman Catholic kindergarten, and school
1125 Budapest Mátyás király street 29.

Rehabilitation Centre for Visually Impaired Children
Light of the World Foundation
7635 Pécs, Bálicsi street 29.

Gustav Bárczi Special Education Teacher Training College
1071 Budapest, Bethlen Gábor square 2