Order of Malta

The “pirates” of the Beregovo District Charity Service of the Order of Malta unfurled their sails on a sunny June afternoon and travelled to the Sándor Sztojka Greek Catholic secondary school in Karácsfalva, where the great adventure started. The fifty-strong group occupied their lodgings with great excitement.

The Able and Disabled Children’s Summer camp started with Holy Mass celebrated by the parish priest, Fr. István Rácz. “Let this week be about mutual love, forgiveness and acceptance of each other’s faults!” – concluded Fr. Rácz.

After supper the pirates’ teams formed, prepared their flags and ships’ prows, and composed their introduction poems and songs. Everyone worked hard and went to sleep tired.

Next morning, they were woken up by the school radio. After breakfast, the teams introduced themselves: the Maltese Pirates, the Masters of the Sea and the Golden Sharks. They boarded their ships and, guided by world traveller István Demény, they sailed to Hawaii. The children were fascinated by the slide show and asked several questions.

In the afternoon, each team received the treasure chest that they would use during the week to gather the gold, silver and wood coins that they would win during their battles. Each team was given its own pirates’ bandannas and removable tattoos.

Wednesday morning was all about battles. The teams fought each other in various games, after which István Demény took them to Borneo. During lunch the representatives of the press arrived and were given glimpses of the pirates' life. The afternoon saw games for the disabled, archery competitions and bathing in the pool. In the evening they were treated to a performance by the Sodró folk group and a folk dancing session for everyone, led by Nóra Szilágyi and István Jakab, whose presence was financed by the Hungarian Ministry of Human Resources.

On Thursday the children went on an all-day outing to Vucskómező, to see one of the natural phenonmena of Transcarpathia, the cold geyser that springs every four-six hours.  They arrived at midday, walked, picnicked, built dams, and were just about to leave when the geyser finally erupted. The young people were overjoyed, as they had already resigned themselves to having missed the extraordinary sight. They left happily for the animal petting zoo, where they were treated to the experience of touching and feeding young deer. After the tiring trip, they wound down with a quiet evening of guitar music and singing led by Rita and Szabolcs Bunda.

Friday, too, had its share of adventures. János Nagy, canoe rower from Budapest, demonstrated his sport and gave several young participants a training session on the tricks of the sport in the swimming pool. In the meantime, others went horse-riding. Then Gabriella Lőrinc, David Csornij,  Gergely Marcsák and Timea Shrek took our pirates into the world of fairy tales: they entertained the children with exciting stories, poems and songs. In the afternoon, Oksana Szimkovics and Sándor Szilárd, of the ArtTisza Art Association, led them in handicraft sessions. The day ended with a team game “let’s light the campfire together” led by Bálint Homoki.

On Saturday the teams read out their pirate diaries, written in the course of the week, which proved to be really special! There followed a treasure hunt, for chests containing stuffed animals, books and messages in bottles. The team captains were tasked with ensuring a fair distribution of the spoils among their team. The teams received Malteser medals and lapel pins. After lunch there came the moment of sad goodbyes, as the children boarded their ships and sailed home…

Our most heartfelt thanks to all the private individuals, to members of the Hungarian Association of the Knights of Malta and to the Federation of Families’ Associations of Transcarpathia, whose support and hard work made possible this wonderful week, during which lifelong friendships were born among able and disabled children!