Mária’s been living in Csanytelek since birth. She’s rarely even travelled within Hungary, mainly because of financial reasons.
name

The Borsos Family

The Borsos family of eight members lives in the village of Csanytelek, Csongrád county, Hungary. The everyday life and problems of the family perfectly reflect the problems of eastern Hungary. The family’s main source of income, in addition to low pay, is the state aid they receive per child, altogether 460 USD per month at the moment. Their situation below the poverty line is not unique: more than a quarter of the population in Hungary currently lives below the subsistence level and a significant percentage lives in deep poverty, what’s more, regional disparities in the country have steadily increased in recent years. Mária and József have struggled for years with the upbringing of their 6 children, as well as with the standard unemployment of the area. For a long time they both tried to supplement their monthly income with seasonal work, which was just as erratic as it was unsubstantial. The problems of recent years have however, consumed their relationship and for a year now, Mary has been raising the children alone, also struggling with the problems that come with it. Nevertheless, Family continues to be able to serve as a true community. Though forced to live with the constraints of poverty, the bond that binds them together is much stronger than everyday worries.
author

Simon Moricz-Sabjan

professional photographer
Simon Móricz-Sabján was born in Kiskunhalas, Hungary in 1980. He is an award-winning photojournalist and documentary photographer living in Budapest, Hungary. Since 2016 he is the official photographer of the Hungarian daily business newspaper Világgazdaság and the monthly business magazine Manager Magazin. Between 2003 and 2016 he worked for Népszabadság, the largest Hungarian independent daily political newspaper which was closed down in October 2016. Apart from his job Simon works on personal projects as well, dedicating a lot of time to develop his personal material, working on photo essays for years in some cases. May it be a social issue or just everyday stories, his main focus is the human being and his surroundings. Simon’s work has been recognized by many photography awards. He has won first prizes at the China International Press Photo Contest on two occasions, as well as multiple awards from Pictures of the Year International (POYi), NPPA Best of Photojournalism, Prix International de la Photographie, PDN, iPhone Photography Awards, Ringier Photo Award, Kolga Tbilisi Photo Award and FCBarcelona Photo Award. Among other acknowledgments, he won prizes at Hungarian Press Photo competitions on 37 occasions, including two Grand Prizes of the Association of Hungarian Journalists; five Munkácsi Márton Awards for the best collections; three awards for photographers under 30; the best press photographer award; and two Escher Károly Prizes for the best news photo. Three times winner of József Pécsi scholarship (for talented young art photographers), five times winner of NKA scholarship; he won the Budapest Photography Scholarship in 2012, the Népszabadság Grand Prize in 2013, and the Hemző Károly Prize in 2015. His photos have been exhibited in numerous galleries including the Hungarian National Museum; Mai Manó House (Hungarian House of Photography); Kunsthalle Budapest; Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center; Palace of Arts, Budapest; The Castle Garden Bazaar, Budapest; Kolga Tbilisi Photo, Tbilisi; POYi, Denver; Expo Milano; Art Gallery Ilia Beshkov, Pleven; Archives Museum, Chengdu; Festival Voies Off, Arles; Museu Agbar de les Aigües, Barcelona; Mies, Switzerland; National Museum, Warsaw. He is a founding member of Pictorial Collective, a group of Hungarian photojournalists.