In the summer, a children's camp was held at the school in Csörög (Csörögi tanoda), where foreign volunteers helped the camp leaders. The local volunteer camp was attended by young people from several places: South Korea, Mexico, Spain, Taiwan and Wales.
As usual Egyesek, the coordinator played a role in the camp organisation process. As the sending organisation, he advertised the project, recruited, selected, trained and supported the volunteers, and provided them with the right support (accommodation, meals, logistics) so that they would not miss anything during their stay.
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About the camp
During the first half of the week, the focus was on getting to know each other, and then the team went on a three-day trip to Esztergom. In view of the extreme heat, they visited the local beach twice. However, laser tag, a visit to the basilica, a ride on a small train and a movie night were not left out of the programme.
Thanks to the international volunteers, cultural exchange was an integral part of the camp. Volunteers gave presentations about their countries, introducing new cultures, music, dances, food, traditions to the children and the organisers. This process was not only done during the planned programmes, the children themselves were also very interested and asked many questions in the free time.
One participant recalled:
A fond memory for me is when during one of the train rides, the Mexican guys taught some boys Spanish phrases, in exchange they were able to learn Hungarian words and sentences from them.
Language challenge
As the primary language of communication with the volunteers was English, the children were initially more unsure and relied more on the camp leaders for interpretation. However, participants reported that by the end of the week, they became more confident and more independent in trying to understand themselves with the other person. This communication experience gave a big boost to the children's motivation to learn the language.
Community across cultures
For the organisers, the success of the camp is that they have been able to forge a community of children and volunteers across cultural differences and language barriers. They say that despite the initial disillusionment, later in the day, even after the sessions, the children would trickle back to the volunteers to hang out, play football and just be with them. Some became such friends that they wrote to each other after the camp, and stayed in touch.
A Hungarian participant's summary of the camp:
As both an outside observer and a participant, I think that the week we spent together had a formative effect on all participants. Involving young people from abroad helped to broaden the children's horizons and break down certain stereotypes, as well as showing the usefulness of language learning. And the volunteers gained an insight into the situation and diverse cultural heritage of the Roma community in Hungary. But perhaps most importantly, they formed bonds. For me, these are reflected in the fact that a few days after the workcamp, two volunteers travelled back to Csörög to say goodbye to the children once again.
So the camp was a defining and positive experience for both children and volunteers.
Parents also commented on how good the camp was, and the children talked a lot about the camp.
Mutual learning
According to the organiser, the volunteers also really enjoyed it when they were able to learn something, and learning about the culture of the volunteers opened up the worlds of the camp leaders and the children. The workcamp was an example of acceptance for the children, who could experience how, for example, while they might not be accepted at school, a foreigner, a Mexican or a Spanish young person is open and attentive to them.
We were very lucky with the volunteers.
To find out more about the work of the Csörögi tanoda, visit their website!
To find out more about volunteer camps in general, click here!
If you're interested in why working with volunteers in children's camps is worthwhile, read our article about it by clicking here!
