We started an online magazine, and the purpose of the magazine is to preserve and improve mental health with the assistance of experts from the Bátor Tábor. Because everyone needs a little Bátor Tábor.

Bátor Tábor, the Camp of Courage has more than 20 years of experience in preserving and developing mental health. 

Its influence reaches far and wide: it is no longer now just within the gates of the camp that the Camp provides life-changing experiences for children with serious chronic diseases and their family members. But, it also helps them recover in hospital and reintegrate into school. A new platform will be launched again in May.

The online programs were made available to everyone during the pandemic which was followed in 2021 by the Above the Clouds podcast, those episodes dealt with topics that concern us all – for example, inner peace, preserving our strength in difficult situations, or overcoming external and internal obstacles, and nurturing our human relationships.

The professional success and listenership of the podcast proved that there is a great need for a podcast about mental health and that the Bátor Tábor Foundation needs to use its expertise in the field of mental health care, in the wider society. That is why we are launching an online magazine called Above the Clouds, a platform where mental health experts meet, and their aim is to reach as many people as possible with the foundation’s message and idealism.

According to a WHO survey, 4.6% of 15-19 year olds suffer from anxiety disorders. Hungary is particularly affected by the rise of depression, for example, according to a domestic research, every tenth person is faced with mental health problems that make it difficult to perform everyday tasks. And according to a 2022 British survey, 84% of parents believe that their child’s mental problems have also increased in recent years. “The situation is similar at home, after the pandemic, the number of children and families requiring psychological help has increased significantly,” highlights Dorka Kocsis, psychologist at Bátor Tábor.  

“In the concept of health, diseases are not the only thing that can harm us, but also it can be physical, social, and mental well-being,” says Dorka Kocsis. “The experience of meaningfulness in life, satisfaction, and self-expression are all part of mental health, just as they are conditions for our wellbeing, and our physical and social well-being,” she adds.

“The extension and accessibility of the Bátor Tábor’s ideology has been a long-standing concern for us,” says Tamás Knecht, the executive director. “We want to improve the lives of readers and the state of society by sharing everything that the Camp of Courage team has learned from seriously ill children and how we help their healing through our free camp, hospital, or online programs. Moreover, in addition to personal life, the role of mental health is increasingly important in workplaces, and it is important for companies that their employees are well. Everyone needs a little Bátor Tábor.”

In the magazine “Above the Clouds,” we explore multiple topics related to mental health each week. On this new platform, the Bátor Tábor approach is accessible to everyone, based on the experiences of children, volunteers, and parents in our programs: how to find and maintain strength in difficult situations, how to turn to each other. And the title speaks for itself, as the sun always shines above the clouds!

The “Above the Clouds” magazine was made possible by the support of Abercrombie & Fitch.