Nagyszakácsi – Cooking Worskhop
The Competition of Children’s Homes’ Little Chefs has been organized for the 10th time this year on 6th June 2015. The location was provided by Nagyszakácsi, a village that in the 15th century served as the territory of the royal cooks. Nagyszakácsi, thus, proved to be a perfect place for such competition. The competition attracted children’s homes both from the countryside (9) and from the capital. For the competition was open for everyone – besides children from children’s homes for the residents of the village, 150 children and 300 adults took part in the all-day-long event. The motto of the day was “World Wide Open” the competitors could excel in cooking a broad repertoire of cuisine all around the world (Mexican, Azerbaijan, Italian, African, Transylvanian, Hungarian, etc). The organizers also provided programs for bystanders: dance groups, kindergarten groups, sport events, art workshops and folk workshops welcome the guests of the day. The Golden Spoon Award went to the Balatonboglár Kikötő Children’s Home, who deserved the best cook title by cooking a wonderful African meal.
Camp Würth
Sponsored by the Reinhold&Carmen Würth Fund the camp could be organized for the 21st time this year. The camp’s theme is preserving nature and, following the long tradition, it was organized in Salgótarján. 61 children took part in the camp (from 19 “apartment homes” around the country), supervised by a 6-member-group of professionals. The camp provides real fun and holiday for children with a history and, moreover, follows a special concept year after year. UNESCO has chosen 2015 to be the “International Year of Light” so in the focus of Camp Würth there were themes connected to light in order to draw attention to the importance of it in our everyday life. The aims of the camp (including, but not limited to): to provide knowledge in how to preserve nature; to provide programs for relaxation as well as leisure time activities; thematic discussions about light and scientific experiments; to gain knowledge about wildlife. These aims were met through the following activities: hiking; arts workshops; film screening; trivia on nature; beach activities; trainings about self-understanding; thematic discussions, etc.
Crime Prevention Camp
It was the 1st time this year that the camp has been brought to life in August 2015, in Csillebérc, supported by the Ministry of Human Capacities. It provided a great holiday experience for 20 children and 4 professionals from 3 countryside children’s homes (Sopron, Győr, Debrecen) and one children’s home from the capital city.
The main aim of the camp was to address victimization and the age group most affected by it (13-15 yrs of age). The camp used not the old-fashioned methods (of deterrence) but new prevention techniques, such as experiental education, self-defense techniques, movie club and sport events. The organizers also put emphasis on conveying knowledge of self-recognition, sensitization, drug prevention, respecting nature, diminishing violence through creative conflict-management.
Children’s Parliament
FICE Hungary has been organizing the Children’s Parliament since 2001, which provides an opportunity for children living outside their families to express their opinion and experiences about child protection services. In November 2015 the event hosted 52 children (12-13 November in the capital, 19-20 November in the country). The first day in both cases was for trainings, the second was for the plenary sessions where there was opportunity for the children to give recommendations in order to better the system.
During Children’s Parliament most of the participating youths worked and expressed their opinion on the subject in an open, active and responsible manner. The overall claim was that the guardians pay more frequent visits, that they “serve” less children so more time would remain for one, that they were supported by methodology material. And also a few recommendations were formed about vocation and vocational guidance.
Gift Day
FICE Hungary has organized a Gift Day in December 2015 for children living in the system. The event hosted 400 guests from all around the country. Children’s homes were represented from both the capital (10) and the country (11). The organizers provided rich programs for the guests – concerts, art workshops, stand-up performance, trivia (the winners of which were awarded with chocolate and FICE T-shirt). In the focus of the Gift Day there stand not the material goods but rather the day in itself that is a gift for the kids with all the rich programs and fun. However, at the end of the day all the participants arrived home with a FICE mug and chocolate selection (sponsored by the Würth Fund).
Conclusion
FICE has closed a successful year from the point of view of programs organized for children and it could not have been realized without the help of the Ministry of Human Capacities.
We can proudly announce that all the planned programs could come true this year, which is in itself a success. The participating children and adults were happy and satisfied and are looking forward to the similar programs, camps, events of 2016. We express our gratitude for the professionals and volunteers who sacrificed their time in order to give these children a rich, colourful and precious time.