volunteers

Ildi Tóth is the coordinator of EU Projects in the Budapest Bike Maffia (BBM) team. In 2019, she went to Brussels in connection with the ‘Intercultural Biking for Helping’ project which she conceived, because it was selected by the European Union as a model project. She is one of our most energetic members who besides coordinating with volunteers from abroad, is an enthusiastic member of ‘Vitamin Kommandó’, and also gives presentations in English to corporate employees and students.

You’re in charge of an international volunteer programme at Budapest Bike Maffia, you work at British International School Budapest (BISB), you participate in a number of other volunteer programmes abroad, and of course you travel a lot. Am I right to think that the English language, travelling, and generally being ‘international’ is also your hobby and passion?

I have been travelling since I was a child and the international environment has been an influential part of my life. Until my last year at university, German and Russian were my most used foreign languages but this has now shifted to the daily use of German and English. I used to travel a lot with orchestras, dance groups and acting troupes which I was a member of until the end of my studies. Since then, I can’t actually think of a time when I haven’t been working in an international environment of some kind. At BISB where I work now, there are students from more than 50 countries! I believe that the creation of a better future begins with getting to know, understanding and appreciating differences in every domain. A personal objective to my volunteering and travelling to manage international projects is to get to know the everyday lives of people and then sharing these experiences when I present and speak about projects and experiences with others.

How did you join BBM and how did the project presented in Brussels and your participation in European Youth Week 2019 come to be?

I returned to live in Budapest in the summer of 2016 and I read about BBM’s initiative called ‘Krízis’ in December. They were collecting donations of warm clothes for people in need. I packed a few sweaters and coats and I took them along to the BBM’s headquarters. A couple of days later, I saw one of the sweaters (which was unmistakeably recognizable, since I inherited it from my grandpa) on Andrássy Street, worn by a man who lived there. That’s when I decided that I would join BBM. In the beginning, I only helped with ‘Vitamin Kommandó’ and with presentations given in English, but in the spring of 2017, I found out that the BBM was going to participate in the ‘Erasmus+’ programme of the European Commission as a receiving organization. I offered to write a project using my experience during the previous ten years of working in the youth field. BBM received three foreign volunteers in 2018 for nine months in the context of this project. It was the aforementioned ‘Intercultural Biking for Helping’, which was chosen as a model project by the European Commission in March 2019. The opportunity to introduce ourselves to the European Parliament and talk to thousands of people about our activity. It was a thrilling experience!

You do a variety of voluntary work at BBM. For instance, during the coronavirus period, masks were delivered to shelters for the homeless thanks to your work and coordination. Do you have a favourite project, task or activity?

My favourite was of course my own project. 🙂 Nevertheless, I have been far from idle since it ended. Last year, I assisted with interviewing the authors in the MyBudapest Photo Project. What I really liked about this project was that we got to acquaint ourselves personally with the subjects: I learnt a lot about their everyday lives that I could share with others, for example, with students at BISB during an assembly about ‘Sensitivity’.

In my opinion, one of our best projects in Vitamin Kommandó. For many volunteers, this is their first connection with BBM. During these occasions, we are able to share with them the story of BBM and what it means to us helping those in need on a regular basis. Sharing over experiences also helps us to deal with what we see and experience during our volunteer activities. Often it can be quite upsetting and thought provoking.

More recently, “mask coordination” as I call it, seemed a bit hopeless. With a tremendous demand of masks for everyone, establishing connections with voluntary seamstresses was challenging. Thankfully, more and more people checked in with us to offer this help. After a couple of weeks, we were out delivering masks to those who needed them, and everything went very smoothly. This enormous collaborative joint effort was wonderful to be part of and its impact was hugely important given the challenging circumstances we are all facing with Covid-19.

What do you like the most about BBM? Do you have a favourite memory from the past few years?

The team at BBM consists of both regular members and people who join us for just one occasion whilst they are visiting Budapest. Our common goal is to help people in need. This is not necessarily easy all the time, both physically and emotionally, but BBM is a real community. We all support each other and the outcomes of our collective energy and effort, no matter how small or large, can be see immediately on the streets and in the housing shelters of Budapest.

The list of my memories is very long, but the most predominant one involved someone living on the streets. About two years ago, I started visiting Flórián Square regularly, to distribute food, clothes and blankets to a group of homeless people who lived there. I visited them every week, I knew their names, and they often told me what it was they needed. Over time, they shared with me their personal stories, how they found themselves living on the streets, and how they were struggling to find their way back into society. Several months later, all of a sudden, they were no longer in the subway anymore. It took me a while to find out why they were not living there. One of them managed to find a job; he became a security guard at a building site where he also had accommodation, another was given a permanent place at a homeless shelter, a third had moved in with a sibling in a rural area of Hungary. I have met two of them since and they thanked me several times for my help. They emphasized to me that whilst the donations of food and clothing were crucial, they were most grateful for me treating them as human beings. Taking the time to engage in conversation with them was in part the beginning of their journey towards a better life. I believe this is an example of what it means to help others no matter how little that may seem, either as a BBM volunteer or just a caring person.

Dénes Annaházi appears in Budapest Bike Maffia’s various programmes. Sometimes he makes sandwiches in the Vitamin Kommandó and he hops on his bike to deliver those sandwiches with the team. Other times, he shoots some photos to catch the best moments during the BBM events. But, if needed he packs, delivers, coordinates. During the virus situation he took part in coordinating fundraising. Last time, he helped in preparing the deliveries of Mother’s Day donations.

Dénes, based on your Facebook posts, we can tell that the Bike Maffia is an important part in your life. You often post about programmes and events you attend. What’s your story? How did you find the team?

There is not much plot twist in my story. I’ve followed the Bike Maffia’s actions on Facebook already. On one of our company event there were around 10-15 kg orange what was left and I wrote to the team whether they would accept them, so that we didn’t have to throw the fruit out. This was in December, 2016. So I went there, stood in the corner and David, who led one of the two Vitamin Kommandó programmes then, came over to me and told me what were they doing and he thanked the stuff I brought. Since this short chat was really pleasent, I’ve decided to come to the next sandwich making event. At that time there was the winter Krízis!, so there was no time to look around or getting to know people. Nobody asked who are you, what do you want, where are you from, what do you do. There’s the bread, the butter, the meat, do it! This just suited me. From then on, two Vitamin events in one week was default for me. The bike was already my means of transport, I brought empathy from my upbringing and  then my camera was there, so me being there in every occasion was not a question. The team and the atmosphere caught me and since then I try to take part and have a taste in everything. My pictures, amongst Insta and Facebook, have appeared in other press fields, which is really flattering. So this is the story and I hope it won’t end for many many years.

We have already asked two volunteers about the Vitamin Kommandó, and asked Noémi Poós as well, who is the project manager of the Kommandó. You are also a permanent member of the team, you take part in almost every event, making or delivering the sandwiches. Why is this community important to you?

Vitamin is the basic project for me, mainly because of the cycling, the team and thanks to Noémi, because of the music that is played by Agnostic Front during the sandwich making process. And helping is always good. I mean, we often hear about inconceivable stories, lives, but at least we do something that can help and make the lives of the people need a little bit better. Besides this, a really great team has been built and it is not just a work connection anymore, we often came together and go cycling in the weekends, organize common programmes, go to pubs or cook together. We can count on each other’s help in all occasions and that is really important.

You take photos, make videos in our events, programmes regularly. To name a few, on the exhibition opening of the My Budapest Photo Project, the Charity Fest, the exhibition of the book, Tekerj!, and many other bike events. You see the programmes from the outside and from the inside. What was the most memorable picture or moment you caught? And which was the event that sticked with you the most?

The photo machine is always with me, of course, that’s my other favourite device beside the bike. There are many many pictures, I don’t think I could pick one. But, there’s one picture which we used to the 1% donation. There, a guy is giving a sandwich to a person in need, that picture is in the TOP 100.

The first Charity Fest had the biggest impact on me. I really saw there how colossal events can we organize if we join forces with other organizations, and people love these events. The second Charity Fest was even more impressive in Dürer and there was no doubt that slowly everybody will hear about us. This is awesome.

Last time, you organized a donation on Mother’s Day. What was this exactly? What kind of donations did you bring and where? What was your job?

The Mother’s Day donation was the first time where I was trusted with the coordination part of the project. We’ve prepared 400 packs, there were biscuits, syrup, pasta, chocolate, bolognese powder and juice in them. Volunteers have portioned them, and along with parent homes, foundations and hostels delivered them. It was an enormous help that we’ve found volunteers to every task, from preparing to delivering. People really help in everything. It was a good experience to complete the project from the beginning to the end. In case of helping, everybody is open and grateful.

If somebody asks you about the Bike Maffia, because of your photos and posts, what do you say what it is like to volunteer here?

I have never volunteered anywhere else before, but I’m sure this is the best organization! It has everything that is needed. The bike, the music, the people, and we can pamper our souls that we have done some good. Of course, I could say, it’s easy for us, because we have homes to go, money on our cards, we have families. But this is exactly why it is our duty to sacrifice our time and our energy to help other people. So, I suggest to everybody to volunteer and there are many opportunities if we look around. There are better and better organizations who are trying to make the world a better place, those who help children, who support people living in extreme poverty,  who are trying to accomodate people who have drifted away from the periphery. We are not the only ones, there is the Amigos, the ULE, the Food Not Bombs, the Heti Bevető, the Age of Hope, just to name a couple of organizations. Be a volunteer, the world needs us! That’s all folks.

Picture: Dénes Annaházi

In our project called Seeds4Hope volunteers are raising young plants from seeds. These plants are planted to the gardens of homeless shelters, where homeless people take care of the plants to harvest the fruit of their work: fresh vegetables and fruits.

Betti Balassa, the leader of this project, describes her relation with gardening by a well-known slogan: “Here i am what i really am.”

Betti, from where do you know the project, and what is your task?

I was so outraged by the introduction of the latest homeless law, that I felt I need to go against it in my own way. The garden can be a good tool for many purposes. Therefore I found out to create and run a social garden for homeless people, so they can not be taken from the streets to jail. After a long searching I had to realize that Bike Maffia’s Seeds4Hope project is the only one in Hungary, that gets together homeless people with gardening. So I got connected with the leaders of this project, who appreciated my gardening skills. Few weeks later we were planning together the pallet beds, I held a seed sewing and seedling growing workshop for the volunteers, and we were gardening together at the shelters. This is how I became the gardening coordinator of the project in 2019.

This year, it so happens that I took the leadership of the project. I keep in touch with the shelters and the supporters, especially. We get many offerings such as seedlings, fruit trees. We need to arrange the details of those placement. Meanwhile I try to rethink my original ideas due to the recent situation. My goals for this year is to make publicity for the program, as shelters for homeless people and for mothers are not just here in Budapest. I hope this example will be sticky!

The garden is your passion, you lead this project with huge enthusiasm too. What studies and experiences do you have? Why do you think Seeds4Hope project is important?

I have some childhood memories, basic skills and passion too. My resent knowledge has built up in the six years I spent in our community garden. I learned the most from my own mistakes I made through these years. I participated to a permaculture training to have my gardening skills more complete. 

Seeds4Hope programs main aim is to teach the ones is need to catch the fish, instead of giving them the fish. Spending only a little time can be beneficial for the body and the soul as well. The residents of the shelters are in the very need of this pozitiv effects. Besides tehy learn self-provision, they can grow their own, healthy food. The successes are giving them self-confidence. On the other hand, I can see much prejudice too. Most people have no, or very false idea about the life in a shelter or warmer. This is why I am very glad if there are voluteers from the organisation sector. They can get a clear picture about the life of a shelter home through the common work.

How does the project work? What stages does it have? What plants do you raise and plant?

At the end of the winter we usually have a volunteers meeting with seed exchange, where we dicuss the changes and the actual timeline. This is a brainstorming too, to find out what to change in base of the last years experiences. After this, we raise the seedlings at home. We give a hepling hand by posts and photos sent out to the mailing group. It is always the individual need of the shelter what plants to be sewed and raised. Tomato is always a big star, but in this year every shelter asked for paprikas too. Species from the gourd family (zuccini, cucumber) are popular too. Last year we brought stawberry plantings for each shelters, those will be fruiting this year. Every type of the onion is a big favourite, as the residents like to eat it besides a slice of bread with lard.

How can you manage the program in the middle of the Corona desease? Has the quarantene situation brought any changes this year?

We are in continouos replanning, despite we are still in the “silent”, seedling growing stage. The spring sewing has been cancelled, because the shelters are running on full capacity, some of them are can not be visited at all. We got fruit trees as an offering from a company, but we postponed the planting of those We will plant the young plants, but the circumstances should be consulted in prior. Probably we will collect and deliver those by car, and the planting part will be the task of the residents. Fortunatelly there are enthusiastic social workers in every shelter home, who like to do gardening, and will help the residents to make it happen.

We place bigger emphasise to the autumn season this year. Hopefully, the emergency will end up till than, and we can arrange community cooking based on the tomatoes the residents are growing. 

What are your experiences about the residents relate to gardening?

They are all very shy at first. Then there are always some who come along to ask what are we doing. They ask if they can help us in the work. In the smaller shelter homes they are already know us, so they come up with plans, where to and what they would like to plant. There are places with regular gardening clubs. This year they asked recipies, to get some ideas how to use their products. It is harder to involve the residents in places where they are rotating fastly. But the institutions’ feedback are showing there are always some helping hands to cut the tendrils from tomatoes, even thought they know they will not eat from the fruit of the plants.

With how many volunteers do you work in this project? How is the team?

Viki Takács coordinator helps my work. She works in the social job sector, and has community garden experiences too. That is a great background for this project.

The volunteers are very different, we are still forming. At the beginning of the year we planned to create a nice team, but this is very difficult in the resent situation with only online meetings are possible.  Last year there were ones, who arrrived with children, like me, to built the bads, and to do the planting. This is very important from the view of social sensitivity. There are community garden volunteers among us too. Ones can not raise seedlings, they just here to plant. Others only do the raising part.

The team consist of 20 people now, we have 3 new members. I am very proud that all of our volunteers from last year are helping the project again. They brought a lot of ideas and offerings. But what I really like is their attitude what links us together: everyone can buy plantings on the market, and take it to one of the BMSZKI shelters. But to sew a seed, raise it to a plant, plant it together with the one who the plant will feed – this is the real human act.

Here is an article from 2019 about the Seeds4Hope project.

Photos: István Juhász, Betti Balassa, Júlia Halász

Zsuzsi Mátraházi supports our team mostly while sitting in front of her computer and providing support from the background – but we are very happy when we get to meet her in person, as she is one of our most cheerful team member. If you send us a donation, you will be coming in contact with her first.

What is your task within Budapest Bike Maffia? What do you do?

I keep in touch with private donors. Most of the things that we need we receive as donations, but of course we also need financial support. Like for our +1 Sandwich project: due to the large quantity of sandwiches collected by the kids, we are transporting the donations by car which means that we have to pay for petrol, and the driver as well. We have corporate backers, but they are someone else’s task, I keep in contact with our “small” contributors. I am the one who thanks them for their support, sends them their membership cards and gifts (for details on this please see our donor page). I also deal with some less-than-popular tasks; mostly sitting in front of an Excel sheet, writing memos and dealing with correspondence. I think of this as essential tasks that needs to be dealt with in order to facilitate the others’ work.

How and when did you meet the organization? How did you become a Bike Maffia volunteer?

At the beginning, I was only a financial supporter of BBM. Years ago, I was looking for an organization that was big enough so that they are not hopeless, but still small enough so they do not have to spend most of their money on their own operational costs. A friend of mine has suggested Budapest Bike Maffia, and I have started supporting them. Later – after a break-up – I have also went to one of their volunteer events because these are all the type of programs that you can just attend on your own. The people that you meet at these events are amazingly diverse, harmony created between them by everyone working together. Eventually I have also began to become familiar with BBM’s operations. Then, a couple of years ago there was a targeted volunteer recruitment call for a few specific tasks and that’s when I applied. I feel like I’ve found my cause and the way I like to help.

Do you have any memorable volunteer experiences?

I came in contact with true poverty several times. One winter we have visited a village at Heves county to cook at their community house, which is also the place where those in need get to go to wash their clothes and themselves. These sort of experiences really get you to put your own comfortable life into perspective. But it cheers me up to see how helpful people can be. There is someone, for example, who sends us less than a thousand forints a month because that is all they can afford. And then there are always great surprises too, like when last year a couple have asked their wedding party to donate to us as a wedding gift to them, and we have only learned about this from the note on our bank statement.

Why is it worth volunteering? If someone was still not sure about joining, what would you tell them?

Because it feels good to help, and you even get to have fun doing it. The way I see it, there are two ways to help. Either you are doing a new sort of thing that moves you out of your comfort zone, which is fundamentally good for you. Or you’re doing something that you are already really good at – which may not be so much fun for you to do but which helps a lot. As an example: in my work, I deal with GDPR plenty. Do you suppose it is my favourite pasttime to write the BBM Privacy Policy as a volunteer in my free time? Not so much… But it is something that I am able to do much easier than others. Of course, most things that we do are fun even if they are tiring. Like last May, after the Charity Fest have ended, I have felt fiercly tired but also overwhelmingly satisfied. These are the best things in life.

Photo by: István Juhász 

The activities and projects of Budapest Bike Maffia are realised by the enthusiastic and steadfast efforts of our volunteers. To help you to get to know them better, each month some of them will introduce themselves to you in short interviews and tell a few stories about their volunteering experiences.

Budapest Bike Maffia has launched its photo competition for homeless people for the fourth time this year. A professional jury has selected the 50 photos that were exhibited at Madách Square in September. The top 13 pieces selected by the audience will be made into calendars, postcards and notebooks. The full proceeds from their sale will be given to the creators, the homeless artists.

We have asked the two women who are the very foundation of the MyBudapest Photo Project – Bernadette Fekete and Hajni Merc – about their work and about volunteering.

What are your roles in the project, how and when did you join this program and Budapest Bike Maffia?

Bernadett Fekete: I have met Budapest Bike Maffia in 2015. First I’ve attended one of their Saturday cooking sessions, then I have joined the Vitamin Commando Team a few times, then i just…”got stuck” with them. 🙂 In the spring of 2016, I’ve read an article about the Café Art team in London who were handing out cameras to homeless people and who then used those photos to bring attention to the issue of homelessness. Although the initiative was a bit different from Bike Maffia’s projects so far, it was getting all the team’s support from the beginning. From the very start we have been getting nothing but positive feedback from everyone; volunteers, creators and our partners have all been enthusiastic supporters of the photo competition. This is how I met Hajni as well, she has helped me before with her great ideas about the sale of the calendar. As a Project Coordinator for four years now, I have been working on the MyBudapest Photo Project from its start to its finish, which runs from April to February of next year. The tasks are very diverse and so far each year has presented both new challenges and new opportunities as well.

Hajnalka Merc: I have first met Detty in 2016, who at that time I think was carrying the MyBudapest Photo Project news and calendars all over the city in her backpack, all by herself. I was working at the bookstore of Fuga – Budapest Center of Architecture at that time. I love photography and I liked the idea, so I was happy to take part in the distribution. That year, Fuga was the central location for the MyBudapest calendar. In 2017 we were hosting the exhibition, the public vote and then the announcement of the results. Last year I have offered Detti my help in distribution, in contacting our existing partners and in exploring new opportunities. So that is how we went about it this year.

You are both also working, how do you manage to take care ot the project tasks as well as your work and your other daily activities?

B.F.: I’d be lying if I said it was smooth sailing from the get-go, but by now we have a more or less ready system. The fundamentals of the competition are the same every year (handing out cameras, jury, exhibition, launching the new calendar), so planning becomes easier. It is also a great help that I can always count on Bike Maffia volunteers who are happy to join the project, be it more creative work (ie: graphic design) or some more repetitive, administrative tasks. This fourth season of the project is also special because we have expanded our team. In co-ordination with Zsuzska Molnár, we will be preparing many new projects this year.

H.M.: I work partly on a fixed, partly on a flexible schedule and I can adjust my workdays to find free time to complete the volunteer task. I still have issues with time management from time to time, but I keep trying to improve my organizational methods.

Why is it worth participating in the MyBudapest Project and also: what difficulties do you face during your work?

B.F.: I regard the MyBudapest Photo Project a bit as my “kid”, so for me it is worth it because I can remember where we started and see where we are now. Still, what I might highlight are the personal stories. Each year we get to know new people and their stories. Among the participating artists I have met many special people, several of whom join the competition as returning artists. And perhaps the project’s difficulty lies in a certain degree of “predictability”. As the competition is repeated year after year, it is a challenge to come up with something new to keep both the creators and the public interested.

H.M.: Last year, at the opening on Madách Square, it was great to see the creators happy about the project. They like that they get to show themselves, get to create, get to express themselves through photography. To become visible in the wider community. And i’m happy that i get to be part of their success. As a difficulty, I would also mention sustainability, which has to be developed through partners and customers. We have to explain time and again what this project is about, why you should be involved in the distribution, and why you should buy the calendar. We have to tell people about the creators, the pictures, the stories behind them and the successes of the project. When the program launched in 2016, everyone was thrilled by its novelty. By now however you have to think differently about the whole thing. We need to prove that it was not a one-off, but a viable long-term project which needs to continue.

Why is volunteering important to you, why is it good? What does your family, friends, and acquaintances think about your volunteer work?

B.F.: This might sound weird at first, but although it is about helping others, volunteering is always a bit of a selfish endeavour too. Whether it’s a project with homeless people, garbage collection on the Tisza, a Christmas party at a children’s home, or even a dog walk in an animal shelter, I’m certain to return home with memorable experiences. These experiences are at least as big a gift to me as the help I can can give is to people. Most of my family and friends has a positive view of volunteering, they know that it is as much a part of my daily life as cycling is. I must admit that I tend to overdo it a bit and take on tasks beyond my capacity, but the people around me not only support my endeavours but also help me find the balance.

H.M.: By volunteering, I feel like I’ve stepped out of my comfort zone. It is somewhere between a profession and a hobby for me. Trying to selflessly help, to do something for other people – it means a lot to me. Some friends of mine have been volunteering for a long time and I have always felt a lot of respect for them when they told me what they were doing. Maybe this was also something that motivated me: they were my role models. It would be great if I could also share my volunteering experiences in a way that would inspire others to start volunteer work as well. 🙂

For the MyBudapest Photo Project, we invite homeless people to take pictures of Budapest the way they see it. We organize exhibitions of the pictures, print calendars, notebooks and postcards. All profits from the sales of these items go to the homeless artists. Our initiative aims to empower homeless people to showcase their talents and their everyday lives, to raise awareness for the issue of homelessness, to reduce stereotypes and to narrow the social divide.

Photo by: István Juhász

All sorts of people participate in our Vitamin Commando project, since anyone is able to join at any time without prior notice, even if only for a single occasion. There is however a so-called ‘core team’, people who participate in nearly every sandwich prep and delivery. We have been talking to two such people: Gergő Szőts and Dávid Orosz about this project and how it became an integral part of their week.

How did you first hear about the project and why did you became regular members?

Gergő Szőts: I have first heard about BBM in January 2017. I have seen their notice on some the internet portal, they have announced a “Crisis!” project due to the extremely cold weather that winter, and were looking for enthusiastic volunteers who would be able to help the homeless one way or another. At that time, I was looking for some kind of volunteer work anyway, so when i have seen that notice i have decided to visit their then base to see how i could help. They were very intense days, a lot of people came to answer their call, and it had felt good to do something useful. After the “Crisis” was over, there was no question that I wanted to attend regularly. Many people have started out at the same time as me and a great team has formed. The hard core members welcomed the new people with open arms, even organised several ‘get-to-know each other and the organization’ parties. This is the main reason of why I became a regular member. I have got to know a great many honest, kind and awesome people here. I have listened to their stories, have let them shape my worldview, and I feel like I became a better person thanks to them. Not to mention feeling like I was doing something good at the same time!

Dávid Orosz: I have started participating in Vitamin Commando because of the 50-hour mandatory School Community Service. I have chosen it because my classmates were here, also because of their 50 hours. They have told me that in addition to helping those in need, you get to complete your hours in a really great atmosphere, so I have thought I’d give it a try. The 50 hours is longe since over but i have stayed. For more than two years now i participate in every sandwich making because these two nights have became part of my week.

What keeps you here?

G.Sz.: Other than the great company, there are two things I can say for sure that have made me a return sandwich maker. The first one is the people that this is all about: the homeless. For me, it is a great feeling to have some time to talk to them while making the deliveries –  to listen to them, to realize that they really are just like us in every way – even if they live on the margins of our society. We help each other a lot – even if they do not do it knowingly – I give them sandwiches, fruit, a few kind words and an audience. For their part: they teach me with their stories that there is no point taking ourselves and every little problem with the world too seriously. The second thing are the rookies. It is great to see people being interested in others, wanting to help, wishing to do something. They are coming because they feel that life should be about more than just surviving. This gives me the desire to come back time and again, because it just energizes me!

D.O.: What keeps me coming back is that i get to meet my friends there. It is kind of a relaxing activity, but at the same time it is charity. I think it is great that i get to do both ot these things at the same time.

How does it feel to be part of the Vitamin Commando?

G.Sz.: Sometimes when I leave sandwiches next to a sleeping homeless person, I feel like Santa Claus. ☺ I imagine them waking up in the morning; seeing some fruit, a sandwich, and maybe even some chocolate next to their head, and wondering where they have got it. Of course, most of the time they know, they know us very well! Jokes aside: it feels great to be a vitamin commando member, our community is awesome!

D.O.: It is great to be a Vitamin Commando member. We are in good company and the mood is always great, be it while making sandwiches or deliveries.

Photo by: István Juhász

All sorts of people participate in our Vitamin Commando project, since anyone is able to join at any time without prior notice, even if only for a single occasion. There is however a so-called ‘core team’, people who participate in nearly every sandwich prep and delivery. We have been talking to two such people: Gergő Szőts and Dávid Orosz about this project and how it became an integral part of their week.

How did you first hear about the project and why did you became regular members?

Gergő Szőts: I have first heard about BBM in January 2017. I have seen their notice on some the internet portal, they have announced a “Crisis!” project due to the extremely cold weather that winter, and were looking for enthusiastic volunteers who would be able to help the homeless one way or another. At that time, I was looking for some kind of volunteer work anyway, so when i have seen that notice i have decided to visit their then base to see how i could help. They were very intense days, a lot of people came to answer their call, and it had felt good to do something useful. After the “Crisis” was over, there was no question that I wanted to attend regularly. Many people have started out at the same time as me and a great team has formed. The hard core members welcomed the new people with open arms, even organised several ‘get-to-know each other and the organization’ parties. This is the main reason of why I became a regular member. I have got to know a great many honest, kind and awesome people here. I have listened to their stories, have let them shape my worldview, and I feel like I became a better person thanks to them. Not to mention feeling like I was doing something good at the same time!

Dávid Orosz: I have started participating in Vitamin Commando because of the 50-hour mandatory School Community Service. I have chosen it because my classmates were here, also because of their 50 hours. They have told me that in addition to helping those in need, you get to complete your hours in a really great atmosphere, so I have thought I’d give it a try. The 50 hours is longe since over but i have stayed. For more than two years now i participate in every sandwich making because these two nights have became part of my week.

What keeps you here?

G.Sz.: Other than the great company, there are two things I can say for sure that have made me a return sandwich maker. The first one is the people that this is all about: the homeless. For me, it is a great feeling to have some time to talk to them while making the deliveries –  to listen to them, to realize that they really are just like us in every way – even if they live on the margins of our society. We help each other a lot – even if they do not do it knowingly – I give them sandwiches, fruit, a few kind words and an audience. For their part: they teach me with their stories that there is no point taking ourselves and every little problem with the world too seriously. The second thing are the rookies. It is great to see people being interested in others, wanting to help, wishing to do something. They are coming because they feel that life should be about more than just surviving. This gives me the desire to come back time and again, because it just energizes me!

D.O.: What keeps me coming back is that i get to meet my friends there. It is kind of a relaxing activity, but at the same time it is charity. I think it is great that i get to do both ot these things at the same time.

How does it feel to be part of the Vitamin Commando?

G.Sz.: Sometimes when I leave sandwiches next to a sleeping homeless person, I feel like Santa Claus. ☺ I imagine them waking up in the morning; seeing some fruit, a sandwich, and maybe even some chocolate next to their head, and wondering where they have got it. Of course, most of the time they know, they know us very well! Jokes aside: it feels great to be a vitamin commando member, our community is awesome!

D.O.: It is great to be a Vitamin Commando member. We are in good company and the mood is always great, be it while making sandwiches or deliveries.

Photo by: István Juhász

No matter it is a weekday or weekend, daytime or late night, or even a random hour: volunteers of the Food Saving Project (www.etelmentes.hu) are always eager to deliver donated (leftover) food to homeless shelters across Budapest. They do this with no compensation, in their free time, with their own car and at their own cost, just to make sure that edible leftovers land on plates of those in need, instead of the trashbin. The donors are mostly restaurants, event agencies or party planners: the minimum number of portions volunteers are able to pick up is at least 40-50. The results speak for themselves: the 30-member project team has saved close to 20,000 portions since the launch of the project.

We interviewed Jean-Louis Murris and Bea Beliczai about the Food Saving Project and volunteering. Bea first got involved as a delivery volunteer but she has been also active in the project’s coordination since last year, assisting the two projects leads.

What made you join the project? Where did you first hear about the initiative? What made you to choose this type of volunteering?

Bea: Food waste is a problem that I have found myself coming back to for a while yet I felt pretty much helpless. It is shocking to see how much food ends up in the trash bin day by day while hunger is still widespread. I thought the two endpoints would just need to be linked somehow yet obviously food waste is a complex issue. I was thrilled when I first read an article about the project: there is a group who actually works on rescueing food and getting it to those in need. I felt immensely empowered and has been an active member of the project team since November 2018.

Jean-Louis: It has been around 4 years since I first came across Budapest Bike Maffia online. First I got involved in the Vitamin Commando project: I found the idea of connecting biking and helping others ingenious. I got truly inspired and founded the ’+1 sandwich – students for those in need’ project within the Gustave Eiffel French Primary and Secondary School 3 years ago. I have been also active in the Food Saving Project for 2 years, helping deliver leftover catering food to homeless shelters.

What is your day job?

Bea: When I first applied I was a stay-at-home mom with my two and a half year old son. I believed it would absolutely make sense to get started in delivering food with him. I was right! What is more, my little one exceeded expectations in all means and was keen on helping me: he could not wait to carry boxes and push the teacart with me. Since he started the kindergarden, I have had more time to run my own projects (publishing books) and also had the chance to take on extra responsibilities at the Food Saving project.

Jean-Louis: I have been retired for 3 years so I could dedicate more time to serve charitable causes. In the last 14 years of my career, I worked in the leadership of the French secondary school; before that, I had been a language tutor at the French Institute.

How does food delivery actually involve? How do you get all the vital information as to when, what and where to the food shall be delivered, including the handover administration?

Jean-Louis: We get key delivery information on the shared online platform of Food Saving: when, where and how many portions of food need to be picked up. The delivery volunteers may see this and whoever commits first picks up the food. We decide ourselves which homeless shelter we take the food to. I have got 4-5 addresses in mind where I drop by on a regular basis as there is always tremendous need for food. Once delivery is done, I let the group know on the shared platform how many portions and to where I delivered, and share photos on the actual handover.

Milyen háttérfaladatok vannak ebben a projektben? Most már hárman is dolgoztok a koordináción, mire kell figyelni, hogy gördülékenyen menjenek a dolgok?

Tell us more about the back office responsibilites of the project. Three of you are responsible for coordination: what does it take to run things smoothly?

Bea: Judit and Dóri, the actual leaders of the project do the great bulk of the work. I am honored to be able to assist them as part of the coordination team. The back office tasks I have been taking care of are very similar to those I had done before for more than 15 years: I was in charge of finding and securing shooting locations for movies, in constant communication with crew members. Likewise, my responsibilities in the project involve round-the-clock communication with donors and delivery volunteers – I am in troubleshooting mode at all times. Last minute changes, such as there is more leftover food than the donors expected and it does not fit into the volunteers’ cars, do occur. These situations require you to think on your feet and challenge your creativity: it would be very frustrating not being able to pick up a donation due to coordination glitches. Fortunately this has not occured yet.

Does delivery always go as expected?

Bea: There have been no major surprises when it comes to delivery. Yet seeing how enthusiastic my son was to take part and help in the whole delivery process was a brand new and awe-inspiring experience. I would have loved to have a few words with those who got the donations but I think it is better just to step back and stay humble: I am happy to take good care of the delivery and glad to see that the food got to those who needed it the most.

Jean-Louis: In my experience, donors are happy to give the excess food to those in need and it also makes the shelter residents’ day. Cannot get better than this.

What inspires and keeps you going as a volunteer?

Jean-Louis: My greatest drive is to help others in need. Yet the +1 sandwich project in the school also has an educational mission. We have middle-class students for whom poverty and marginalized communities, such as homelessness, is unknown. I have been working on an initiative to cook and serve food with a few volunteer students and parents in a day shelter. I already have a smaller partner organization in mind that has experience in such projects and warmly welcomed our idea.

Bea: Wasting food makes no sense at all – that is my primary motivation. Picture this: while there is a ton of food left at an fancy feast somewhere in Budapest, many in need gather at a homeless shelter that night, near the venue, with nothing to eat. Although there is only a few kilometers between them, the leftover food never reaches those suffering from hunger: it is discarded into the trash bin. This is exactly what the Food Saving project has been created for: with responsible donors, this would less likely happen again.

Photo by: István Juhász

For many years now twice a week Noémi Poós is spending her evenings with the Vitamin Commando team, be it summer or winter, rain or shine. She is the project’s leader, one of our most reliable and most important volunteers. We have asked her how it all started and how it feels to work with the Commando twice a week. We also reveal whether it is possible to volunteer at Bike Maffia without a bike.

Noémi, it is fair to say that as project manager for the Vitamin Commando you are an almost indispensable member of the Budapest Bike Maffia staff. How did you come across this project, and what exactly are you doing, how does the Vitamin Commando work?

I have been keeping an eye on the work of BBM through social networking sites for some time. I have always had the desire to help those in need in some way, but like many others: I couldn’t really do, wouldn’t really dare to do it alone. Then finally in October 2015, I have grabbed two blankets and went to my first Vitamin Commando event. I didn’t know anyone there but the community was very inclusive, so I have become addicted pretty quickly. After about a year and a half of regular participation in the Commando events, i  happened to take on the organization of the project itself and i have stuck around, participatig nearly all of the events for more than four years now. Vitamin Commando is one of the most spectacular, most visible projects of Bike Maffia. It provides immediate assistance to people in need and it is the project where the most volunteers can join our work. We meet twice a week at our current base, prepare about 150-200 sandwiches which are then immediately distributed by our bikers to people on the street, to night selters and to warming shelters as well. My task is to coordinate the volunteers during sandwich making and delivery, to manage the procurement of raw materials and coordinate the use of the donations we have received.

We often say that the Vitamin Commando is the oldest project of Budapest Bike Mafia, since a similar initiative was what brought BBM to life, it was the ‘seed’ of our association. At that time it was a spontaneous thing, but Vitamin Commando then grew into a regular, well organized project. How is the team, what kind of people attend these events?

Bike Maffia has started out eight years ago with a Christmas food distribution, and grew into what they are today. The Vitamin Commando itself had its  “official” launch 5 years ago, first as a once a week thing, with a fairly regular core team. As their news spread, more and more volunteers has joined, and we have switched to a twice a week schedule. This has been working out nicely ever since, in the last four years we had maybe two events that were cancelled? We get together come rain or shine, even on natinal holidays. The team is very diverse, as the willingness to help is not tied to age, gender, occupation or nationality. There is a “core” cyclist team which is mostly composed of young guys, but to prepare the sandwiches we get older people, even some kids too who participate. The team is different each and every time. Some people come weekly, some about once a month. We have foreign students who are studying in Hungary and tourists who are just visiting for a few days.

What makes Vitamin Kommando important to you personally? What kind of experiences does it bring you?

It is safe to say that it has completely changed my life. I have joined BBM at a time of my life when i have not been feeling too good about myself. I felt stuck in the mundane routines of day-to-day life – basically just going to work – and i had no desire to leave my home otherwise. At that time, I was not even cycling in the city, afraid of the heavy traffic. So in the beginning I was just participating in sandwich making. Then I got to know the guys better and I have felt a growing urge to go with them to help distribute the food as well. Took me about half a year to go on my first ‘commando mission’ on my bike. It gave me great sense of security that we were moving as a team on our way downtown, I have learned a lot about traffic, about different routes. After about another half a year I have noticed that I am now cycling everywhere. New friendships have formed, even my weekends have started to include cycling trips – and they have been ever since. There is also the feeling that I am doing something good for others, that another afternoon have passed doing something that is actually useful – and there is an almost immediate feedback confirming this. One of the best feelings while doing food distribution is giving someone a sandwich down by an underpass and by the time I am coming back, I can see them snacking away. My opinion about homeless people has changed a lot too. We are talking to them a lot, and we get to hear a lot of different stories. Visiting a homeless shelter is also a formative experience.

An important question that we often receive: do you need to have a bike, must you know how to ride a bike if you want to join?

No, you do not need a bike! Anyone can join to just prepare sandwiches, and we also always ask our “pedestrians” if they know or have seen any homeless people to whom they wish to take some food on their way home. For their first time, we also help newcomers who may have difficulty in addressing homeless people, who do not know what to say to them. We love to talk to new volunteers about our experiences if they require it. We are trying to expel the stereotypes about homeless people, but it is best for the newcomers to experience such situations personally.

Photo by: István Juhász

The activities and projects of Budapest Bike Maffia are realised by the enthusiastic and steadfast efforts of our volunteers. To help you to get to know them better, each month some of them will introduce themselves to you in short interviews and tell a few stories about their volunteering experiences.

Budapest Bike Maffia has launched its photo competition for homeless people for the fourth time this year. A professional jury has selected the 50 photos that were exhibited at Madách Square in September. The top 13 pieces selected by the audience will be made into calendars, postcards and notebooks. The full proceeds from their sale will be given to the creators, the homeless artists.

We have asked the two women who are the very foundation of the MyBudapest Photo Project – Bernadette Fekete and Hajni Merc – about their work and about volunteering.

What are your roles in the project, how and when did you join this program and Budapest Bike Maffia?

Bernadett Fekete: I have met Budapest Bike Maffia in 2015. First I’ve attended one of their Saturday cooking sessions, then I have joined the Vitamin Commando Team a few times, then i just…”got stuck” with them. 🙂 In the spring of 2016, I’ve read an article about the Café Art team in London who were handing out cameras to homeless people and who then used those photos to bring attention to the issue of homelessness. Although the initiative was a bit different from Bike Maffia’s projects so far, it was getting all the team’s support from the beginning. From the very start we have been getting nothing but positive feedback from everyone; volunteers, creators and our partners have all been enthusiastic supporters of the photo competition. This is how I met Hajni as well, she has helped me before with her great ideas about the sale of the calendar. As a Project Coordinator for four years now, I have been working on the MyBudapest Photo Project from its start to its finish, which runs from April to February of next year. The tasks are very diverse and so far each year has presented both new challenges and new opportunities as well.