Due to the war in Ukraine, human lives are at risk, people lack basic supplies and have been forced to leave their homes. IDPs have reached the Western part of Ukraine and refugees are arriving to Hungary in growing numbers. The Hungarian Reformed Church Aid has been providing emergency response from the first day. Daily update.
Zoltán Balog sent a message to the people of Transcarpathia in Pulzus Radio (2022.03.08., 18:12)
Transcarpathia is now even closer to us than before, our thoughts and prayers are filled with the life and fate of our brothers and sisters there - said Bishop Zoltán Balog of Dunamellek, ministerial president of the Synod of the Reformed Church in Hungary, to Radio Pulzus in Transcarpathia. He stressed that when help was needed, people moved ahead of the state and even the charities.
Pastors in Transcarpathia are already receiving call-ups (06:35)
Pastor and even the Bishop's deputy has already received a military summons, said the bishop of the Reformed Church in Transcarpathia, Sándor Zán Fábián in InfoRadio. He added that since there is a war situation, he may be drafted as well. The bishop told the programme that they are still taking aid to Kijiv and helping transport refugees on the way back: a few days ago, dozens of abandoned orphaned children were rescued from the Ukrainian capital.
The Mexican newspaper also writes about the work of the Hungarian Reformed Church Aid (08:04)
The online portal of the Mexican newspaper, El Sol de San Luis also wrote about the activities of the Hungarian Reformed Church Aid on the Ukrainian border. The site published the account of a Mexican woman living in Switzerland, Isabel Valtierra, who reported that she and her German husband had taken donations to Záhony. Isabel, a woman from San Luis Potosí, her husband and some friends distributed hygiene products to the refugees and gave crayons and colouring books to the children. She described that their activities were coordinated by the Hungarian Reformed Church Aid, which helps at the border, and they were immediately welcomed. The portal also published several photos of the situation in Záhony.
The Hungarian Reformed Church Aid has already delivered almost half a hundred tons of donations to Transcarpathia (14:02)
The total amount of donations sent to Transcarpathia since the outbreak of the war is approaching fifty tons, said the Hungarian Reformed Church Aid. The organisation has already helped to feed, house, transport and care for more than 100,000 people. Their staff and volunteers continue to serve in nine locations across the country, including railway stations and Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport.
Reformed also help with job search and school enrolment (18:18)
The staff of the Hungarian Reformed Church Aid help adults staying in the Reformed Mission Centre to find a job and children to find a school, if a family does not want to return to war-torn Ukraine. There are mainly women and small children from Transcarpathia in the shelter, as well as some fathers - they had worked in Hungary before, but now their families have joined them. The staff of the Social Ministries and the Roma Mission run activities for the children during the day: dog therapy, experiential painting, a playhouse and handicraft activities.
No one should stop taking their regular medication! (19:07)
No one should be left without their regular medication! This is what the doctors at Bethesda Reformed Children's Hospital are asking those fleeing the war. Qualified doctors and nurses are waiting at the Western railway station of Budapest and the Záhony railway station throughout the day for those in need of medical assistance.
Dr. Bernadett Karnerné Bíró, a pediatric specialist, told the www.reformatus.hu portal that the most frequent complaints of the volunteer doctors are blood pressure spikes, panic attacks, limb pains, headaches, and many people are also suffering from stomach problems due to the journey.
In addition to providing immediate assistance, Bethesda Reformed Children's Hospital is in constant contact with medical institutions across the border, helping them with medical supplies.
Edited and translated by Anna Derencsényi, international officer of the Diaconia of RCH