The affiliate received unexpected news this morning in the form of two awards from the European/Central Asia (ECA) office: for the Szarvas affiliate, The 2007 Best Global Village Award in Europe Central Asia, and to me, one of the 2007 Linda Fuller Awards for Distinguished Volunteer Service in Europe Central Asia. (Linda and husband Millard Fuller founded HFH; the latter award is a relatively new one from what I understand). Feedback from teams determine the recipient of the GV Award. Though I’ve no idea how recipients for the latter are chosen, am honored nonetheless
The GV Award is based on evaluations and reviews from teams working at individual affiliates under the ECA umbrella. Each award has an associated grant, the first to Szarvas, mine to be used for the Habitat mission in a Habitat program of my choice …. who knew?
Fri-Sun 9-11nov07
Time off, enjoying the fall leaves, exploring Szeged, a river city near the southern border of Hungary about 100 km from Szarvas, and spending a bit of offsite time with Levi and family.
Szeged is a university town of roughly 175,000 people, laid out in “rings” very much like Vienna. The ring nearest the river is accessible via “gates” reminiscent of the Transylvanian gates of the historic walk here (though considerably larger), with a wide central arch for vehicles and smaller side arches for pedestrians. It has a peaceful feel and was a lovely setting for kicking up leaves, breathing the crisp clear fall air, and enjoying a beautiful morning.
I was there at Levi’s invitation; he and a friend collect postcards of Szarvas and other Hungarian cities, and I explored while they “shopped” at a collectors market. It was interesting to look through Levi’s cards on the way back. They represent a visual history of the town from 1889 to the present, punctuated by bits of story on the cards themselves as they make their way back to Szarvas in this unique way, and after months here, fun to capture a broader sense of then and now in this place that has become so familiar!
1 comment:
Congratulations! I know you are blessed to participate as well as promote Habitat's Global Village program. Keep up the ood work!
Linda Fuller
www.fullercenter.org
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