Implementing the Culture
of Peace 2004
4th
International Volunteer Youth Camp,
18th
–
27th
June
Hungarian IRFF and friends are still working on creating the Culture of Peace. Our last project’s title was: Implementing the Culture of Peace 2004 - Let's work to make our surrounding more bright and happy, 18-27 June, Hungary
We organised the international youth volunteer camp in Sikonda that belongs to the town of Komló in the south of Hungary. This part of the town is a weekend area with lakes, hills, meadows, forests and some youth camps, holiday cottages. We could sleep in three small houses of one of the camp, which owned by the County Government. Besides us there were even around 100 children from different schools.
We
were 22 young people from France, England, Ireland, Germany, Portugal,
Denmark, Romania, USA and Hungary. The youngest participant was
a 14- year- old boy but his attitude and working ability challenged
the elders’. Each day someone or later one of the teams started
with the motto of the day. We tried to think of it during the day
and on the evenings everyone could recall and find the connecting
points with it.
On the first two days we had orientation: get to know to each other, develop our communication skills, show up creativity. In the egg museum we saw thousands of decorated eggs from different countries. In another village we saw corn husk museum and also tried to make angels from this nature provided material. On the other day we visited a castle and presented possible stories of the place in 5 minutes. After we listened to a madrigal concert in a medieval tiny church
We started to work on the third day. Started to paint of the camp’s long iron and wooden fences. We also coloured a small relaxing place. We did all very precisely. Later we went to the park of Komló, near the camp and cleaned up a small river bed, took out an old, ugly, rusty fence and collected garbage. The care- taker of the camp brought up some forest trees from seeds and we planted them all over the area of the camp.
On
one day we went to Pécs (a city near Komló) and helped the Kerek
Világ Önálló Életviteli Központ (Round World Independent Life Center)’s
handicapped people, some in wheel chairs, some were walking just
with a little help. First we went to the zoo and then we took a
special bus to a library for an author audience meeting where a
handicapped young writer spoke about his life.
Every evening we had special program: lectures about our future, about the work of IRFF, service, conflict-resolution, body talk, the nature of the waterchrystals. Once an editor in chief from the Hungarian Kossuth Radio came (who was appointed Ambassador of Peace by IIFWP Hungary) and talked about the possibilities of the media broadcasting about the culture of peace.
One night all of us were inspired by the movie: Remember the Titans. On the last day we went for a relaxing boat trip to the river Drava, near the Croatian boarder. After reflected our past week individually and in teams as well. On the evening we had a wonderful family evening with so many creative performances and with two professional guitar players. We received many cakes from one confectionery of Komló and from one visitor’s grandmother.
The media gave us also chance to talk about our goals, vision in living broadcast on radio and in the news on the T.V. and in papers.
Thanks for the Mayor of Komló, Baranya County’s Children and Youth Public Fund, Krisztina confectionery, Siroki Edit, Emilian Necula, the care taker of the camp for their support.
Reflection of one of the participants:
IRFF project began with a good omen. On the first day in Sikonda I found a stag beetle that was 7 cm long. Then like an hour later someone else found the female of the species. Apparently it is an extremely rare bug in Hungary, a protected species. It's kind of a beautiful bug from the scientist's perspective. However, it's hard for your roommates to see the unique beauty of this mammoth bug if it escapes and starts running around the floor of your room in the middle of the night with it's spiky legs and big black antlers that snap open and shut like a crab claw. (Shrug.) I slept through the whole thing.
IRFF began everyday with a morning motto. Once we had split into four teams, each one with a creative name and a distinct personality, we took turns presenting the motto, which was like the "theme" or advice for the day. For example "If you enjoy the work today you will enjoy the world tomorrow!" urged everyone to invest in the day's project or activity because whether it was planting trees or accompanying the disabled to a zoo, either directly or indirectly, it was to leave the world a better place in the future. On another occasion "Be the master of coffee" urged everyone to be an inspiration for someone else or to give energy to each other for the day's task.
Every evening usually ended with a presentation often given by visiting guest lecturers and the topic ranged from "The Message of Water" to various aspects of serving. I felt that a motto in the morning and a presentation in the evening provided some framework of content for the day. Otherwise I think it would have been easy to become unfocused on the purpose behind IRFF which was not just work, work, work but also to form international ties of friendship. I think these constant daily reminders to make the time enjoyable for everyone and overcome boundaries of language, culture and age; kept the project from descending into a cycle of drudgery and haphazard fun.
In other words, there was some direction throughout the project. The co-ordinators really wanted to transform us from random strangers into friends as well as people who could make the ideal of service a part of their own lives and communities.
The impact of our IRFF project could already been seen before the project was even finished. Several participants were invited to speak on one of Hungary's radio stations and I got a real kick out of seeing the participants as well as myself on the MTV afternoon news (5 minutes after watching a report on a dress make out of bread). I think through these visits from the media we could see how already our actions were becoming news, maybe even inspiration to others.
Sightseeing was a big component of IRFF. The participants experienced a lot of the local history and culture of Pécs through trips to a castle, an egg museum, a madrigal concert and a corn husk doll museum. Also a good experience was experiencing the nature of Pécs through the environment of the children's camp we stayed at and the boat ride we took on the River Drava.
And finally, maybe what was the best experience for me; coming home without getting eating by the escaped tiger in Sikonda.
Some others:
I got so much and this “fact” inspires me also to do more services in my everyday life in a natural way.
Co-operative works are much effective and useful than individual work.
I found it nice, in the middle of nature a lot of sport fields where a lot of games took place together with IRFF participants and other children as well.
I enjoyed it that there were other small kids around. We could really get along with them through sports. Maybe we could also inspire them through what we were doing and set up a good example.
Picture
Gallery
(click
to enlarge)
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Copyright (c) 2004 IRFF Europe
Luxembourg@irff-europe.org