We did a show in the chapel of the “Juvenile Delinquent Center” in Újpest, Budapest, which consisted of several songs, dances done by Daniella, Jeannette and Heaven, plus the Christmas-skit and an Anti-Drug pantomime performed by Stefan.

The home for single mothers in Érd asked us to do this year again a Christmas show, since we have been helping throughout the year with monthly bread-deliveries, we felt another show could be the “cherry on the top”. The children and the mothers liked the show very much and were excited about the sponsored sweaters and socks we brought for the children.

On the 19. of December Andrea, Ildiko, Silvia and Paul and his older son coming from Denmark drove with a delivery van fully loaded with wintershoes and clothing from Scandinavia, to several villages in the area of Pécs, southern Hungary. Led by a local parishioner who knew where the biggest need was, they were delivering urgently needed food items, winter jackets and winter boots - as well as Christmas presents for the children until the late evening hours. The recipients were very happy, since material help in this form has not come their way before.

(Click on picture to view gallery)
With a team of 9 we went last week to Deva and Petrojeni in Transsylvania, Romania to visit two orphanages that are run by the ethnic Hungarian minority. We performed a series of Christmas shows, that included clown acts, magic tricks, dance performances, a puppet theatre, lots of music and a pantomime. We brought personally shoes and clothing to the teenage and children orphans and spent individual time with many of them.

Many of the children have been saved out of heart-wrenching situations by the initiative of those that run the network of these specialized orphanages. There is e.g. the Albino-child Kato (see picture bottom left), who was born in Romania and living a few years in adoption with foster parents in Hungary: Because of the law changing she was suddenly being deported back to Romania and haplessly put in an orphanage, where she didn’t understand the language and quickly developed behavioural problems. Finally she found a loving place within the safety of the orphanage in Deva, where she has been the “love-bug” of the community ever since, smiling and cheering up all that are crossing her path. Gheorgina (on the picture next to Kato) also was being found in the slums of Deva, left alone by her parents and is now taken care of by loving caretakers.

We were invited to perform our one hour show in the “Bethesda Children’s Clinic” in Budapest. In a joint effort together with William, Helena and Isabella we cheered up the little patients with clown acts, 2 dances, a puppet show, several musical performances and a pantomime, afterwards we gave everybody Christmas presents and Activated Magazines. The Children and the Hospital stuff were very happy about us bringing a little light and cheer into their lives.

  

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Below is a video clip of the Christmas pantomime Stefan did during our area’s “Open House” at the Petnehazi Hotel, where we performed in a joint effort with two other volunteer-centers a one hour musical program, including the pantomime. Underneath the clip are a few photos of the event.

Left: Maresha, Gabriella, Alicia and Helena   Right: Ester and Isabella

Left: Daniella, Isa, Jeannette, Maria   Right: Edina

Since a couple of years we are in contact with Moni and her 7 children, living in very poor living conditions near Ráckeve. We have been bringing many times food and clothing, as well financial donations, given to us from goodhearted donors specifically for them. End of November Ildiko and Andrea again delivered Joghurt, brown bread, fish, eggs and other food items and spent some time talking with and encouraging the children.

Prime-time Saturday evening at 8:00 PM Stefan performed an Anti-Drug pantomime in Budapest’s “Vörös Yuk” (“Red Hell”) Music-Club in the Timar Street, Obuda – the second time this year. Dozens of bands and musicians, as well as the skit were part of a country-wide leukemia benefit event, a fundraiser for the Leukemia-Foundation “A LEUKÉMIÁS BETEGEKÉRT”. The full flash-gallery with some more of the pictures you’ll find here. (You can safely install Flash Player 9 when being prompted to). If you would like to read about the last pantomime at the ”Vörös Yuk” from March, just click here. Here you’ll find out about past box skit performances.

Andrea with 2 orphan girls in Deva, Erdely

On the 14th of July 2007 our team of 9 was heading with a sponsored rent-a-car from Budapest, Hungary to Deva in Romania, a small city in the heart of Transsyilvania and populated partly by a Hungarian minority. A good friend of ours, a catholic priest, well known in Hungary for his selfless work with the orphans in Romania, had asked us previously to organize a 2-week summer-camp in Deva. Our team consisted of 4 adults and 5 of our own youngsters, ages 12 to 15 years old. Daniella, Jeannette, Kris, Daniel und Julie were eager to once experience how it is to help out in a Romanian orphanage.

The following two weeks turned out to be a challenge, since we found out at our arrival that we were to take on the younger orphans, as well and would have to daily reorganize our schedules. We divided everybody into two groups: The younger ones one group and the older children together with the teenagers.

Every morning after breakfast we began the day with animated action songs from our vast Family repertoire, this really helped the children to come out of themselves. Everybody joined in and danced, jumped and had a lot of fun moving to the songs. Soon after the “real action” would start: We organized obstacle races, treasure hunts, hide and seek games, swimming, theater, walks, excursions, crafts and arts or basketball- and soccer games, plus a special barbecue and on the evening before our departure a dance-night for the teenage orphans. Over and over again our musician Daniel was being asked to sing and perform with his guitar. Well, most of the time this resulted in a dozen or more rousing action songs that were loudly encompanied by the delighted children, as well as the handful of volunteers from Deva, who helped us daily to make the camp possible.

Again and again the love-starved smaller children came up to us adults and youngsters to cuddle up next to us, they wanted nothing more than to be held for a long while. A “luxury” that we were gladly trying to give, something which hasn’t been granted to them in their lives all too often. “After work” was not something that we were able to indulge in during these two weeks a lot, but it was worth the sacrifice. The evening hours frequently belonged to the volunteers and orphan youths that were looking up to us for counsel and came with many questions about the meaning of life.

Altogether the summer camp was for all involved a wonderful and great inspiration. For us organizers it was awesome to see the many miracles the Lord was able to perform, as we we included Him step by step in our planning and had thoroughly prayed for all the details; for our youngsters it was a unique experience and without their input and ideas much would not have been possible. Right after our arrival back home they burst out with the question: “We really miss all the people and the orphans, can we do the camp soon again?” The children and the youth of the orhanage probably benefited the most from the camp, to many of them we are now tied with an eternal bond of friendship, as well as through a memory on a unique summer camp. Regularely now we are receiving SMS’s from Romania, some of the youth asking if we will be coming back soon.

Andrea and Ildiko went on a 3-day journey to Erdely (Transsilvania, Romania), to scout out the situation for the upcoming 2-week long summer camp in Deva. Not only that, the car was full of donated childrens clothing they had picked up in Switzerland 2 weeks before that. Besides charting the territory for the soon-to-come Deva 2007 Camp, Andrea and Ildiko spent a good amount of time to outfit and dress many of the orphans.