The association offers children a week away from their war-torn, everyday lives at home.Continue reading
Since 2010, government measures have united the nation across borders and generations, binding us in an indissoluble way, said Katalin Szili, Senior Advisor to the Prime Minister, in Orfű (Baranya County, southern Hungary) at the opening of a sailing camp for young Hungarians abroad, organized by the Rákóczi Association.
Ms. Szili highlighted that “thanks to the efforts of the past decade and a half, it has become a daily routine that the nation is united in its entirety, from the diaspora to the Carpathian Basin.”
She noted that 15,000 young Hungarians living beyond the borders will spend part of their summer holidays in 35 themed camps organized by the Rákóczi Association in Hungary. The sailing camps, a specialty among the opportunities, are held in Orfű, Tihany (northern shore of Lake Balaton), Lake Nyéki, and Lake Mályi (both located in northern Hungary), where over 200 young people from beyond the border will learn the basics of sailing in eight sessions.
The PM’s Senior Advisor thanked the people coming from beyond Hungary’s borders for preserving their traditions, identity, language, and culture.
She stated, “this is what unites us and holds us together.” She also praised Lajos Kollár, a heart surgeon and former President of the Hungarian Sailing Federation, who helped introduce sailing camps to the Rákóczi Association’s summer program five years ago.
Béla Harmat, Deputy Mayor of Orfű, described his village as open, welcoming, and full of sporting opportunities. He hopes the young participants will return with their families and friends. Of the eight sailing camps this year, the first was held in May with young people from Transcarpathia on Lake Mályi, followed by camps for Transylvanian high school students on Lake Nyék and in Tihany. Two more camps will be held in Orfű, and the 2024 program will conclude in Agárd (Lake Velence, central Hungary).
Via MTI; Featured Image: Facebook / Rákóczi Szövetség