William Penn Life, 2000 (35. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2000-11-01 / 11. szám
Hungary suffers from high levels of poverty and tuberculosis, reports say from The Budapest Sun Online Hungary and the rest of Central and Eastern Europe have levels of poverty and tuberculosis normally associated with developing countries, according to a recent reports. The European Children's Trust, a non-governmental organization, said that throughout the region there were "160 million people living in poverty and at least 50 million of these are children." The report said this was a result of "what was seen to be a 'transition' to a market economy but was, in fact, an unprecedented economic depression," a problem that could be alleviated if the West helped reduce the burden of national debt. Using data from the UN Development Program, the European Children's Trust said rates of tuberculosis were higher in Eastern Europe than Arab states, Latin America and East Asia. The report comes on the heels of a United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) report that nine out of 10 children in Hungary are living in absolute poverty (i.e., households with incomes below the U.S. poverty line converted into national currencies). Anita Szabó, press officer for the Ministry of Social and Family Affairs, said "at present a 13-month support program is being planned to help those families in need." She also said the Ministry did not have figures on child poverty. The UNICEF survey found that in the 29 nations of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Hungary has an absolute poverty rate of 90.6 percent, second only to Poland with a rate of 93.1 percent. The West didn't fare much better. According to Unicef, 22.4 percent of U.S. children live in relative poverty, a mere 3.6 percent below Mexico. Two Hungarian teenagers selected to participate in upcoming N\ars mission from The Budapest Sun Online Two Hungarian teenagers have been selected from more than 10,000 entrants worldwide to participate in work with NASA's Mars Global Surveyor in an upcoming Mars mission, scheduled for 2003. Zsófia Bodó, 15, from Budapest and Bernadette Gaal, 14, from Hódmezövásáhély near Szeged, took part in the Red Rover Goes to Mars Training Mission organized by the Planetary Society. The two girls came through a field of 80 semi-finalists from 44 nations and now have the opportunity to take part in a mission 35 million miles away from home. Gaal said winning "was like a dream. I want to study science and have always wanted to go to the United States. Our parents will go with us, so for this reason too it will be a real adventure." "I have always dreamt of something like this," Bodó said. "It is my secret desire to one day become an astronaut. The second Hungarian in space and the first Hungarian woman." The young scientist team, consisting of nine students from Poland, India, the U.S., Taiwan and Hungary, will use image data from the Mars Global Surveyor orbiting the red planet and then help choose a possible landing site for future missions. In 2001, the two Hungarian teens will travel to Malin Space Science Systems in California to take pictures of Mars' surface. The 2003 mission will be the first planetary mission in which members of the public will command a spacecraft instrument, NASA officials said. Washington awards NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ - Former Hungarian President Árpád Göncz and former U.S. Ambassador to Hungary Donald Blinken will be the guests of honor at the 38th annual George Washington Awards Dinner sponsored by the American Hungarian Foundation. The black tie event will be held Nov. 16 at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. The award recognizes those persons whose eminent contributions are in the broad field of human knowledge, the arts and understanding among men and nations. Puskás wished well from The Budapest Sun Online The soccer world is sending its support to Hungary’s greatest player Ferenc Puskás, 73, who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Puskás played on the national team 84 times between 1945 and 1956, scoring an amazing 83 goals in those games He led Hungary to Olympic gold in 1952 and historic victories over England in 1953. After fleeing Hungary in 1956, he played for Real Madrid from 1956 to 1966, scoring 511 goals in 533 games. Festival of trees NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ - The Museum of the American Hungarian Foundation will host its 12th Annual Festival of Trees from Dec. 3 to Jan. 28. Tree-trimming traditions from I I nations will be on display. An opening reception featuring holiday music and refreshments will be held Dec. 3. For more information, please call (732) 846-5777. William lYiin Ufr, I November 2000 13
