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Agi Anderson hasn't added a story.
Let me begin by saying thank you so much, I am deeply grateful for for all donations and every dollar contributed. I am sure by now you're wondering, help Hungary, WHY?
I was first inspired to help Hungary when I was 18 years old after my mother took me to Europe when I graduated high school. I arrived in Hungary as a brat with an attitude, I returned to the USA a humble, young woman thankful to live in the land of the free. The first photo below is me and my brother Miki, with my mom. The second phot is my mom, as a young woman in Hungary.
While I was in Hungary in 1974, it was still under communist reign. I was exposed to what life is like in a country where freedom is not the norm. I had not realize how privliedged I was to have to have simple things like a telephone in my room at home in the states. In Hungary, no one in our family had a phone in their home and two of my aunts did not even have refrigerators in their homes. What they did have was an abundance of love and such generosity that made my stay in Hungary amazing. Read on, I share the backstory of my parents escaping during the Hungarian Revolution.
Fast foward to July 2013. Our family was headed to the Budapest airport, returning back home to the USA. As I gazed out my window at acres upon acres of sunflowers, I asked myself, “how can I help Hungary? How can I help my family?” It was then that a seed formulated with the idea to create opportunities revolving around sunflowers to help my family and help fellow Hungarians thrive.
A Quest Propelled by Sunflowers
Let me backtrack to the year 2012. Jay, my husband of 30 years passed away suddenly from a heart attack at 58 years old. Jay had been out of work for three years from the recession. He had finally found a great job and was just shy a month of receiving his benefits. We had no insurance and no savings. I was beyond sad and heartbroken. Life felt scary and so uncertain. Also, my heart was still heavy from the loss of my brother Jeff, who passed away very suddenly from a heart attack the year before. He was only 44 years old.
My mother, my hero, decided we needed something to look forward to and began making plans for us to visit Hungary in 2013. The journey evolved with 24 of us from the USA flying to Hungary for a family reunion to celebrate my aunt’s 85th birthday. It was the last time I would see her, as she passed away in 2014. Ever since then, I have been driven with a burning desire to make my way back and help Hungary.
Now I am on a quest propelled by love, family and sunflowers. I am making plans for 2016 to stay in Hungary for about a year. I will sell most of my wordly possessions with the intention to help fund my journey to Hungary.
I am eager to use my voice and my influence to promote the amazing folk artists and artisans who live in little villages who are not plugged into technology. With your help, I know I can inspire prosperity with the help of American ingenuity, without disrupting Hungary's rich, historic culture.
I am happy to report, I am developing my company, Sunflower Ventures, LLC, to be a globally responsible company that is green conscious, honors Fair Trade standards and will make contributions to give back.
The money contibuted will help:
- buy a commercial location used for vacation rentals; I have been a property management specialist for more than 10 years.
- co-op space for artists, embroiderers, photographers’ and artisans who make handcrafted goods.
- eCommerce site to promote and sell Hungarian goods worldwide.
The goal is, and will forever remain, creating opportunities to help Hungarians thrive. The ideal space is a commercial building similar to the one below that has upstairs living quarters for the vacation rentals and a shop below for the Sunflower Co-Op space. The vision for Sunflower Ventures, LLC includes; creating income opportunities for Hungarians. I plan to leverage video to promote the eCommerce website, along with tourism, for the many quaint Hungarian villages and historic locations.
I am committed to alleviating the financial struggles of my family and native Hungarians. My desire is to encourage people to help themselves through the old adage, “give a man a fish, he eats for a day, teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime.” I want my efforts to be significant, make a contribution to the Hungarian economy and pay it forward to the land of my birth.
Backstory of How I Arrived in the USA
The back story began when I was an infant in 1956 and my parents escaped with me during the Hungarian Revolution. They walked nearly a hundred miles to escape living a life opressed by communism. My mother and father arrived in the United States with just me and the clothes on their backs. They had no jobs, no home, no family or friends, nor did they speak one word of English.
Even with nothing to their names, my parents were fortunate to escape Hungary. However, our family left behind and many Hungarians in low lying areas, to this day, still suffer with a lack of jobs and struggle to make ends meet.
This amazing country, rich with history and longtime traditions is still not economically stable. Hungarians lived under communist reign until 1989, which was only 27 years ago. When communism ended, there were no plans for economic growth and Hungary has made incremental progress ever since. In 2014, an OECD.org economy report stated, “Hungary has exited from recession in early 2013, but the recovery is modest. Growth potential is held back by weak investment, low employment among low-skilled workers and shortcomings in labor and product markets, making further structural reforms essential.”
I realize there are many causes out there seeking financial assistance. I urge you to see the value of helping Hungarians thrive. Your contribution will truly make a difference.
Let me wrap up by once again saying thank you so much. I am deeply grateful for every dollar contributed. No amount is too little – every bit helps and every contributor is part of the larger goal. If you cannot donate at this time, please help spread the word and share my quest to help Hungary thrive.
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