Our Voluntary Organisers:
Antonia Benedek
Trustee
Dr Marta Berry-Gajdos
Trustee
Dr Edit Zolnai chair
I am a Hungarian living in London, but Veszprém is my home town where I spent most of my childhood.
I was trained as a lawyer and worked as a judge in Veszprém for a couple of years before marrying an Englishman and settling down in England in 1992. I re-trained and did the English law degree, but I could never practise here as our children arrived in 1996 and in 2000.
Before they were born, my husband and I read all the literature about bilingualism we could lay our hands on. We are convinced that bilingualism is not only not harmful, but a huge advantage for them and we should do all we can to help them learn and practise Hungarian in this English speaking country. I am very pleased that both our sons are balanced bilinguals and my husband’s grip on the language is also respectable.
We joined the Hungarian Children and Parents Group in 1998, where I got more and more involved in the management of the Group. In 2000, I was elected Chair and in this position I am working to help local Hungarian, or semi-Hungarian children learn Hungarian in a happy environment.
Zoltan Kakas
Vice Chair (Islington)
Monika Zahuczky
Vice-Chair (Morden)
Ildiko Demeter
Treasurer
Anna Hurl
Treasurer (Morden)
Ruth Featherstone
Library keeper (Islington)
Ildiko Toth
I’ve lived in London since 1991, I regard myself as a Hungarian-Londoner. I am a Hungarian Peto Trained Conductor, working with Cerebral Palsy people.
We joined the LMI+ in 1997 when my son was only 18 months old. He immediately enjoyed the atmosphere, the music and the company of other children at the Islington group.
At home I communicated with him mainly in Hungarian until evening time, when my husband returned from work. Our common language is English as a family. My son used to be able to speak and understand Malay as well until the age of 3, but due to inconsistency with this language, he has forgotten it now. This proves the importance of being a persistent parent.
I have been involved with this charity as a committee member since 1998. My role kept changing depending on what post needed to be taken. I had been a membership secretary, an acting vice chair and an acting treasurer. At the moment I am a PR. My present role is to build and maintain good relationship with other local Hungarian organisations.
Eva Lengyel
Event Organiser