Fige Gergely joined the Helping Hands team in the beginning of 2020 as the professional leader of the elderly care team. He has been close to the field of providing help for the elderly for a long time so he was happy to have the opportunity of joining. Here comes the short interview we made with him.

Why did you choose to study social pedagogy and then social work?

Growing up in a family of educators I always had the motivation to study in a similar field. I was always interested in professional caregiving. I have a helping attitude – if I can tell it. I chose to be a social worker in order to improve myself professionally.

As far as I know, you have experience with different age-groups: you have helped children, families and the elderly as well. Can you explain it a bit?

It is true, I have helped people in need – regardless of their age. The beautiful part of this profession is that the helpers need similar skills, we only have to adjust the tools of help, the professional knowledge and experience according to the target groups.

You have joined the group of Helping Hands this year as a professional leader. What are your long-term goals, what kind of activities and services would you like to provide for the elderly of the district?

Our current activities and services are very well-built and personalized. They are unique in the country, they are based on personal presence, attendance and helping conversations. Beside these “classical” types of services, we also provide help using infocommunication tools. I find  modern technology of the 21th century very effective and a usable way to help. My prior goal is to assure a more secure way of life for the elderly where they can ask for help quickly and easily. I am planning with services that involve technology and provide mental help in order to show a sample for other workers of this field.

You are also part of an exciting project. Can we hear a bit more about it?

I am participating in a project where social associations provide homes for people in need. My task there is to analyze the process itself and comment on what works well and what does not, which parts of the methodology are worth to use again in future projects. This project is present in more areas of Hungary so I have the opportunity to study the features of the social care system while I also get new information.

Thank you for your answers, welcome in the team of Helping Hands!

This article is translated by Anita Nagy.
Click here for the Hungarian version.