When most people think of summer camps and programs, they imagine groups of excited children playing games, learning new skills, making friends, and enjoying adventures in the fresh outdoor air. Camps are structured for fun. For children with serious illnesses, opportunities to have this kind of fun can be hard to find.
Bátor Tábor, which translates as Camp of Courage, gives children with cancer or other chronic illnesses the chance to enjoy a complete recreational camp experience. Every year from March through November, Bátor Tábor opens its camp gates to children from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary. A fantastic time is guaranteed! To provide for the campers’ health and wellbeing, there is ongoing medical supervision and specialized adaptive equipment. To ensure fun, there is a wide array of camp activities including horseback riding, rowing/canoeing, fishing, archery, a high-ropes course (even for wheelchairs), arts and crafts, magic woods to explore, photography, drama, dancing and music. To make certain families can manage this – it is provided free of charge for the children, including travel costs!
The camp experience means that children can move beyond the limitations of their illnesses and disabilities, be enriched by new activities, and challenge themselves in a safe and therapeutic environment. Kids get to try out new activities, feel success in different situations and hang out with others who share similar life experiences. It’s amazing to see how much of this fun is then generalized into greater confidence, more enthusiasm and better communication when the children return to their regular post-camp lives.
Bátor Tábor is affiliated with the SeriousFun Children’s Network – a global community of 30 similar camps and programs. Like other affiliates, Bátor Tábor is an independent, not-for-profit organization which relies on volunteer input, donations and fundraising activities.
Therapeutic recreation re-creates possibilities for children who just want to have some fun. IWAP is proud to support this worthwhile organization, and we are raising funds for the purchase and provision of much needed equipment and program materials for use by children from the Czech Republic this summer.
More information about this charity can be accessed at https://batortabor.hu/en/.
Jenny Rassaby Ryan moved to Prague with her husband in 2013. Leaving her grown kids in another country was the hardest part of the move, but she has embraced life in the Czech Republic and loves being here. Joining IWAP became a way to make wonderful friends, explore her adopted home and its culture, and participate in activities to support Czech charities. She is honored to be IWAP’s President.
How to Donate
You can donate to the IWAP Charity Account via bank transfer:
Gallery
(click on photos to enlarge)
Photos courtesy of Bátor Tábor
