Hi parents!

After a toasty drive from Prague, we arrived in Budapest to find yet more traffic! However, after a small delay we arrived at the campsite just before sunset. This campsite did provide the challenge of trying to peg down our tents in ground which hadn’t seen rain in three months! Eventually the tents were up, and the rest of the evening was spent chilling on the camp, resting for the day ahead at SOS Children’s villages.

An early start the next day was a difficult one for most people, but due to traffic issues earlier in the trip, it was decided that leaving early would be a good idea incase most of Hungary’s roads were having holes dug into them. Nevertheless, we made it on time to the SOS Children’s village in Kecskemet. We were greeted by two managers of the village, who gave us a delicious traditional Hungarian breakfast. After a presentation about the charity and how it was founded, we were then split into two groups: one of which would spend an hour renovating a fence in the village to help the groundsman, and the other would pair up and visit families of the village. The painting and sanding required a lot of patience and energy, especially at the hottest point the day!

Meanwhile, in the houses of the families, we were challenged to break the language barrier and colour in several letters which would spell the charity’s motto: ‘SOS Children’s Villages: Giving a loving home to every child’. Every one of us had a great time with the families we spent the morning with, and visiting the village has totally changed everyone’s view on orphanages!

In the afternoon, we played little games with the children, as a small competition, with a chocolate bar as a prize for the winning team. Then the letters which we had coloured in in the morning with the families were brought together on a huge board, which was to be covered in handprints to represent the families in the village, with everyone getting a bit covered in acrylic paint! We then ended the day by visiting the families we were with in the morning and had dinner with them. Before leaving, we handed out a couple of neckers to some of the fanilies and had a group photo with some members of the village under the gateway to the facility.

Next morning, camp struck before 1100 and enroute to Filip’s house (one of George’s fellow scout leaders) in Croatia.