Youth Summer Camps - Serbia

KEY FACTS

Jewish children from this region are extremely isolated, by geography, politics or the inherent limitations of living in small Jewish communities

WJR provided funds to allow 67 students and eight madrichim (youth leaders) to attend the camp

This programme aims to assist isolated Jewish youth from the Former Yugoslavia in the rediscovery of their Jewish identity through an annual summer camp with Jewish youth from around the world.

Szarvas camp grew out of a desire to reunite Jewish youths from central and eastern Europe with their Jewish heritage.

Jewish children from this region are extremely isolated, by geography, politics or the inherent limitations of living in small Jewish communities.
Given the small number of Jewish children in the former Yugoslavia- barely 1,000 - this camp does wonders for their integration into the Jewish world.

Last summer, WJR provided funds to allow 67 students and eight madrichim (youth leaders) to attend the camp. It is situation 150km south of Budapest, Hungary.

The camp is equipped with a swimming pool, sports hall, football, basketball, tennis and volleyball courts. There is also a computer centre and a synagogue on site. The students are given the opportunity to take arts and crafts lessons, Israeli dancing, IT and Jewish history classes.

The opportunity to attend this camp has become critical to the forging of Jewish identity among the communities of Former Yugoslavia. Graduates of the Szarvas programme tend to go on to become leaders in their community.