Summer Camp
Community-building & Sensitization
Balatonföldvár, 1-10, August, 2018.
„Between the first and tenth days of August, a lot of programs, group activities and playful competitions kept us busy. After the delicious breakfasts we had morning worship services with Eszter Takácsné Varga where we could learn edifying stories and words. We also participated in group trainings in the motto of sensitization and community-building where we had the opportunity to participate interesting and important existential questions and learn about various topics.”
Bernadett Puskás, University Student,
Ferenc Rákóczi II. Transcarpathian Hungarian Institute
„This is the third time when I participate in the Summer Camp organized by the Foundation and I am a scholarship-holder for two years. It was so great to meet those people who had participated in the previous years’ Summer Camps. The organization and the programs were excellent. Thanks to the sensitization trainings, we got much closer to each other. We discussed such topics we had never examined in details earlier, despite the fact that these topics play a key role in life.”
Kis Ferenc, egyetemi hallgató,
Eötvös Loránd Tudományegyetem
The Summer Camp of Chance Project Group II took place between 1. and 10., August, Tiszaföldvár. For the forty Transcarpathian, mostly university students, besides the educational trainings, community-building and sensitization were on the Camp’s agenda. Eight topics were prepared for the daily (twice) one-hour meetings. Two of the eight topics were chosen by the students at the beginning of the Summer Camp.
Purpose of the community-building and sensitization trainings:
- to deepen their interpersonal relations;
- to strengthen their ties to the Motherland, to increase their Hungarian identity and to encourage their proactive attitude;
- to improve their human relationships based on the Christian and moral attitude in the context of their communities;
- to understand social questions and challenges;
Previous experiences:
- In the previous Summer Camp, in 2017, we could get to know everyone’s plans, goals, way of life and their understanding of community and their interpersonal relationships;
- Earlier in 2018, some of the participants volunteered to join to arrange the Financial Literacy Camp 2018 in Tiszaroff which was organized for mostly Roma children from deep poverty; this occasion challenged the students’ organizational skills and they passed this test;
- The Financial Literacy Camp provided positive experiences for everybody and also provided guidelines for their way of thinking and understanding the different communities in the society by new approaches. It is a treasure to learn from each other. The volunteers and the participants could present the gems of their background. From a pedagogical viewpoint, this work is invaluable, because the main idea is cooperation, co-working and respecting each other; this can be the way to gain strength in this world full of challenges and to become a good example of this generation.
The Summer Camp in Balatonföldvár was the continuation of this awareness-rising process. The interactive trainings provided enough space and time for discussions and debates on social and ethical questions. The students participated actively in the trainings and their attitude can be described as constructive and mature. It can be concluded that these trainings could achieve its goals: better understanding of each other, improving the awareness for social questions, raising the awareness and affection of acceptance, tolerance, finding common ground and respecting the other in the community. These trainings also aimed to improve the students’ ability to listen and evaluate (not to reject) the other’s opinion, even if it is in contrast with their own position, because the other person’s opinion might need thorough consideration. For me the most positive thing was how these young adults express their Hungarian identity which is quite a good example even for those who live in the Motherland. Its imprint could be caught during the daily conversations, the morning worship services when some of them played on musical instruments, i.e. on synthesizer, guitars etc., and in their singing. The mission of the Summer Camp can be a good start for the students’ interpersonal relationships to help them to gain strength, mental and intellectual provisions for their journey, which may play a key role later in their life.
Balatonföldvár, August, 2018
Eszter Varga Takácsné
High School Teacher