Buddha Vibes: My Life

As most of you know I started working for the American Joint JDC , one of the world biggest Jewish Charity, at the beginning of this year as their CFO for Europe/Latin America. I am just back from Hungary where I visited the biggest international jewish summer camp we run there. 500 children coming from all over europe for 12 days, 5 sessions per summer. An amazing program!!! I wanted to share this experience with you (see below) because it was very very moving to be there with them...

Impression from a French blonde in Szarvas

With Szarvas the 1st challenge starts even before getting there with…the spelling.! Is it Sarvach? Sarvasch?….No, I'm sure there is a "z" somewhere…ok here it is SZARVAS !!! I'm so proud of myself, now that I know where I am going I can get in the plane to Budapest, or is it Budapecht, as they pronounce it locally?..

Overwhelming is an understatement when trying to describe the feeling you have when entering the camp. This place is like a Donor's Dream come true, it is the United Color of JDC, a place where Hundreds of European Jewish Children are United Together under the "Mother Goose" style supervision of JDC Trained Professionals staff. (Re read the previous sentence carefully, capital letters are there on purpose, every word is important)

But this is not a simple vacation camp, from the beginning you feel that it has to do with Continuity, with transmitting and teaching through fun activities who we are and ensuring that it gets transmitted in turns. Continuity transpires here under every aspect: Continuity between children because they first attend the camp as regular Campers, then as Madrichim, Units Heads, Program Director and even Camp Director (Hi Sasha!). No wonder they are well trained, they have lived this experience in and out, over and over again. Continuity because we are planning for the future by building a young committed generation that will feed their local communities back home with their passion and enthusiasm. Continuity because for some of these children the camp is their only connection to Judaism and they learn so much about it during their stay, even without realizing it. If only 5 or 6 songs remembered, a discussion…anything…you know how children learn quickly and how easily they remember things, right? This is what it is about. Even if they remember only a few things we are happy because they will probably come back, because we have raised their appetite, because we have concrete examples that when they grow up they are even more curious about what they learnt at Szarvas and then document themselves on Judaism, because those children have more chances to become active team players of their community. Continuity because jews have always been wandering around the world and at Szarvas we are giving them a chance to meet and become friends with each other, to understand what it is to be a jew in other countries and in other cultures, thus making the diaspora stronger.

The other value that you can feel at the camp is Team Spirit. Team Spirit is so obvious in the way the camp is run and in the way the staff communicates and interacts. This has a direct positive impact on the atmosphere of trust and fun that they, in turn, manage to create with the kids. Some of them being only seven years old a warm atmosphere and nurturing feeling is very welcome obviously…

Creativity is definitely also a key word around. Frankly the JDC staff team has nothing to envy a Club Med G.O. They make so much out of the resources they have and with a neverending enthusiasm. There are lessons to learn for most of us who live in so called 'rich' countries. Rich in money, not always in creativity, this place is a lesson of humility for us.

A few example of what I have experienced in a day at the camp

The unique experience to hear the high speakers calling kids for activities in Russian, Romanian, Hebrew, English….

Diner in a too small but colourful diningroom decorated with children paintings on jewish themes like Shabbat…etc The decibels are climbing right away and Sasha takes control by singing songs with the kids, most of them in hebrew. Diner is followed by birthday celebration, including the birthday of Iris, wife of a JDC Israel employee in visit at Szarvas. Then come the football tournament prices ceremony, with 1st place for…sorry I can't remember, you'll have to ask a guy, I'm better at fashion

After diner the children split in groups with their madrichim for an after diner activity. I attended the Hungarian group activity. 4 angels representing love, truth, justice and peace. Children had to reflect about world creation by god and what those 4 angels made them think of?

Finally around 9:30 starts the big event for everyone in a crowded coupola, here again the place is too small, only half the people there could sit, privilege of being less young, I got a sit…Very nice show on a jewish biblical topic. This is followed by a good bye to the Israeli group from Sderot leaving back home the next morning..

And just when you think that all is finished and that night has started….again more activities... I'm telling you it's much more active then Club Med here
Around midnight the madrichim woke up the oldest kids ad showed them a "horror" video. During diner tonight the madrichim went to the children rooms and took some of their personal belongings. They put their catch in big garbage bags and hide them in the forest around the camp! Now the kids have to go on a Team Building hunt to get them back. Quite motivating when your cell phone battery or your teddy bear is somewhere in the forest….All finally ends around 3am after the forest accepts to release their treasures. Memories for a life time !!!

I hope that I managed to share with you part of this once in a lifetime experience, and that I made you very jealous that you have not been there…yet! I strongly believe that by creating memories for a lifetime Szarvas helps building the jewishness of the future, rooting it on our common culture and values

Virginie