Magyar News, 2001. szeptember-2002. augusztus (12. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2002-04-01 / 8. szám
BY KATI VIGH-BRISEBOIS Out of the last three years my family and I have spent half of the time in my native village of Ersemjén, Transylvania. This small village of 2000 population is located about 40 miles North of Nagyvárad, and 2 miles East of the Hungarian border. As a young girl I travelled the area by train many times. Still today, the rich country side with golden wheat or bright sunflower fields, makes my heart happy. On the other hand, the pain and poverty of people living there, especially children, makes me very sad. Today the trains are full of begging children, and even begging grown-ups. This tragic situation and the love for my people compelled my family and I to help. In cooperation with UNICEF, United Nations Women's Guild, and friends we have succeded in starting a project called Sunshine Farm. The focus of this project is to prepare teenagers for adult life, especially married life and to find a home for orphans, who are willing to start a new life in a rural community . Through summer workshops we have educated 70 teenagers between the ages of 14-18. We, the lecturers and educators, desperatly tried to give them a vision of how to make right choices in their lives. We put emphasis on character development, delayed gratification, and so, naturally emphasize purity before marriage. Sadly, some of the children had already been exposed to sexual harassment and abuse. Some girls explained that there were times when they would trade sex just for a cigarette! Through the workshops, it become evident that these children deeply desire to have a family and a home. They are very aware that bringing a child into the world without parents multiplies suffering and social problems. Throughout the program we emphasized that deepest personal satisfaction and healthy self-esteem comes through unselfish, altruistic love and service to others. In other words, without working in accord with this basic principle of love, they will continue to carry resentment and perpetuate hurt and anger. Some older children appeared to understand this point very clearly. Others went a step further and told me that they felt "liberated" through the presentations made. One of the most important, and interesting, conclusions the teenagers had, was that bringing children into this world without two parents, could be considered one of the greatest crimes. In addition to this, participants experienced a variety of other activities with different serious contents. For example, they invested themselves in community service projects such as street cleaning. They had "interfaith" experiences by visiting local churches of different denominations. They worked harvesting crops in the fields. They helped out in the kitchen, played sports and games together. At night these children stayed in tents and fell asleep to the beautiful music of crickets. Among others, two boys also found a home in Sunshine Farm. They made a commitment to stay and work on the farm. The boys, Horváth Józsi and Picai Tino were close friends in their previous orphanage. Józsi is of Hungarian descent, and Tino of Romanian origin. Józsi who is 17 years old was the first one to come to Érsemjén. He was always ready to help do any task. He never knew his parents or any relatives because he was abandoned at birth. He always hoped and prayed that when he grew up he'd have a little house to live in, where he could find some happiness. HELPIN0 ORPHANS TRANSITION TO SELF-RELIANCE Page 4 Left: Women s Federation for World Peace at the United Nations. Below: Sitting with the panel is Kati Vigh-Brisebois Top:Kati withLacika at tke Sebes Körös Bridge in Nagyvárad. Below: With Rev. Lugosi and friends.
