Reformed Church in Hungary updates on ministry in Ukraine and with Ukrainian refugees - June 2022

Along with the rest of the world, on February 24, the Reformed Church in Hungary was shocked by the news that Russia had launched a war against Ukraine. The Hungarian Reformed Church Aid (HRCA) responded quickly, and has been offering relief to refugees since the first day of the war. By February 25th we had already sent an aid shipment to Transcarpathia, the western region of Ukraine. That same day, we also converted a church-owned property in Budapest into a temporary shelter for refugees from Ukraine, and many from the HRCA staff began working alongside volunteers to help welcome refugees at the Nyugati railway station. Since then, we have been sheltering refugees, providing basic necessities for them, delivering humanitarian aid directly to Ukraine, and supporting brothers and sisters in the Reformed Church of Trancarpathia who make up the local community in western Ukraine and who have been welcoming internally displaced people (IDPs) fleeing the war from central and eastern Ukraine. Very quickly the number of places where we were helping in a centralized way multiplied. At border cities like Záhony, Bergsurány, Tiszabecs, and Lónya we provided food, clean drinking water, hygiene products, basic information, accommodation, and transport for those in need. In just the first two days of the war, the HRCA assisted in the delivery of more than 10 tons of nonperishable food to Transcarpathia, and provided accommodation for nearly 100 people. In just one day more than 1,000 volunteers registered and began assisting our complex humanitarian relief operation in Hungary and Ukraine. As more and more refugees arrived with health needs, medical personnel from the Bethesda Children’s Hospital joined the effort by volunteering their expertise at the Nyugati Railway station in Budapest, as well as the Záhony Railway station near the Ukraine border. Over time the number of places where we offer on-the-ground assistance has expanded even more. Before long an increasing number of people began arriving at the Romania-Hungary border, so we began operating in the border town of Biharkeresztes. In addition, the Liszt Ferenc International Airport soon became a place of refugee arrival, and we shifted resources there as well. In mid-March, when the government made policy changes, the BOK Sports Hall in Budapest became the central reception location for those fleeing the war, and the HRCA joined many other organizations in offering assistance there. It quickly became apparent that in order to provide the best care possible to refugee families, we needed more staff. To date, more than 70 new staff have been hired and joined the HRCA since the war began. New staff serve many roles, including as coordinators, administrative staff members, drivers, and warehouse personnel. There have also been more than 4,000 people registered as volunteers, including retired doctors, nurses, lawyers, and university students. Aid to Transcarpathia has been a primary focus of HRCA aid sent to Ukraine. Since the outset of the war, our vans have been crossing the border daily, and more than 550 tons of in-kind donations have been collected, more than 300 tons of which has already been delivered directly to help with those fleeing the violence. Donated material has included nonperishable food and hygiene products, but also medical supplies. The war has greatly depleted Ukraine’s stock of medicines, and the HRCA has stepped in to deliver nearly 20 million forints’ worth (around 50 thousand pounds) of medicines, bandages, syringes, infusions, blood glucose meters, as well as defibrillators and ECG devices to hospitals and health care facilities in and around Transcarpathia. The HRCA also works to support families and farmers who have faithfully remained in Transcarpathia. In April we delivered 11 tons of seeds across the border that will help the backyard farming efforts of ten thousand families, ensuring their longer-term livelihood. The total number of locations where assistance has been provided by the HRCA efforts is 30, including 18 locations providing temporary accommodations. Since the war began, we have logged over 220,000 points of service or ministry contact, including nearly 90,000 occasions of food assistance, and medical care provided for nearly 5,000 refugees. More than 4,000 people have been involved in the ministry as staff or volunteers – including over 1,000 interpreters, 150 medical doctors and health professionals, and more than 3,000 volunteers. We are grateful for the tremendous wave of solidarity, the prayers and donations from sisters and brothers and partner organizations around the world. Congregations and individual friends of the church have shown that their hearts go out to refugees and victims of the war. They have contributed substantial donations to the ministry of the Hungarian Reformed Church Aid, which has been shared with refugees in Hungary and internally displaced people in Transcarpathia, Ukraine. There are no words sufficient to express our gratitude on behalf of the HRCA and the Reformed churches in Hungary and Ukraine, as well as the thousands of refugees to whom you have offered hope in a time of hopelessness. So let me express my gratitude and appreciation with the words of our Lord, Jesus Christ: “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did for me.”