Step by Step towards an Independent Life

Provident Financial Ltd. and the Hungarian Interchurch Aid's ‘Invisible’ program's ‘Conscious Living Step by Step’ competition is making a tangible difference in the lives of three families through versatile educational, expert and financial assistance. The winning families received assistance that will enable them to start a new chapter in their lives in terms of financial planning and life organization, and Provident is providing financial support to help them move forward.

Some Hungarian families are literally invisible to financial institutions: due to their financial situation, they are not creditworthy, cannot access financial services, and are not reached by the educational activities of banks. Provident Financial Ltd. and the Hungarian Interchurch Aid have jointly launched the Invisibles program, which focuses on developing their financial awareness and life planning skills and has been providing tangible practical assistance to those in need in the area of self-care for many years.

This time, as part of the ‘Conscious Living Step by Step’ competition, Provident is providing financial support to three families who have made the most progress in managing their finances more consciously during their time in the aid organization's temporary homes.

The ‘Invisibles’ program has a dual objective: in addition to expanding the financial and life management knowledge of those affected, it also seeks to bring about change in the field of social education drawing the attention of those who are more fortunate to the needs of the disadvantaged – because social problems can only be effectively addressed through joint cooperation. The competition and the life stories of the winners are both a result and an example of this process: they show that there are tools available to transfer missing knowledge and thereby change specific life situations and life paths.

"The winners' stories are doubly successful, as they not only demonstrate the effectiveness of the Invisibles program, but also serve as examples for those in similar situations to the three families involved in the Aid Organization's scope. For the families who have now been given this opportunity, the combination of knowledge transfer, professional assistance and financial support can bring about a solution – thank you to Provident Financial Ltd. for their support, which has made it possible to improve their lives in a tangible way," according to Kristóf Gáncs, executive director of the Hungarian Interchurch Aid.