The Hungarian Reformed Church Aid has mobilised all of its capacities for the Emergency Response in Ukraine in the first two days of the Ukrainian-Russian armed conflict. HRCA transported more than 10 tons of food across the border, provided shelter for more than a hundred refugees directly, organized and maintained its presence at border crossings, and coordinated more than a thousand volunteers across the country.
HRCA Volunteers at the Railwaystation in Budapest
The Hungarian Reformed Church Aid was among the first organisations to mobilise its staff and volunteers to provide immediate assistance to those suffering from the armed conflict in Ukraine. The charity organization of the Hungarian Reformed Church delivered its first food packages to the Ukrainian-Hungarian border on Thursday early morning, and since then, more than 10 tons of non-perishable food worth of nearly 8 million HUF (around 22 000 EUR) have been distributed by the staff of HRCA.
Since Thursday afternoon, volunteers and colleagues have been receiving refugees at the Nyugati (Western) railway station in Budapest and at the railway station in Debrecen. HRCA is helping connect arrivals with volunteers providing transport services and, if necessary, guiding refugees to temporary shelters. Nearly 100 individuals have already used this opportunity just in the first two days of the war.
Since Friday, HRCA has also been present at the border thanks to its team of volunteers. They have welcomed refugees from Ukraine in Záhony, a city close to the border, distributed food, tea and drinking water, provided interpretation assistance and transported them to nearby shelters or public transport hubs. In addition to Záhony, HRCA teams have already been deployed at the border crossing points of Beregsurány and Lónya, and aid packages have continuously been delivered to the warehouse of HRCA in Gelénes, near the border, from all over the country, so that the vehicles of the Church Aid, carrying new donations, are ready to leave for the border at any moment.