In Slovakia, there are approximately 5000 children in almost 100 children's homes (family centres). There is plenty of evidence that children growing up in institutions do not form a secure relationship and life in a facility has a negative impact on them. Institutional staff are paid for childcare, prioritizing the safety and physical needs of children before meeting their individual psychological and social needs and adequate approach to their childhood traumas.
Children without families suffer from a lack of love and proximity, a healthy social background, role models and individual support, which are key to achieving a successful transition into the adult world. Although the state invests a lot of resources in the care of these children up to the 18th year of their life, after leaving the institution they are exposed to homelessness, end up without work and cooperate in illegal activities. The BUDDY project has been created to help young people who leave their children´s homes and need help to integrate into life. BUDDY is a community-based volunteer program based on the training of a volunteer (tool of change), who then takes care of the child. BUDDY is something between a mentor and an older friend. A team of psychologists and social welfare professionals carefully selects, trains and associates one volunteer with one child (12 years old or older) from a child's home.
The program also has a wider impact and engages supporters of orphanages and other civil society organizations. At the same time, the program has great benefits for volunteers - giving them a new perspective on the world, experience and personality development such as humility, empathy, patience, self-reflection, gratitude, knowledge, and revaluation of values. The project's target groups are children and young people from children´s homes, people from local communities, vulnerable groups and people at risk of poverty.