Fostering resilience through rediscovering joy and play: psychosocial help for a Donbas community

Fostering resilience through rediscovering joy and play: psychosocial help for a Donbas community

Enduring the tragic consequences of war for almost 9 years now, the people of the Donbas are struggling for their mental health, too. Supported by ACT Alliance and Hungarian Interchurch Aid, Caritas Kramatorsk has been at the forefront of this effort. By establishing spaces of creativity and youth development in Kramatorsk and the villages surrounding…

Mental & Spiritual Healing on the Foothills of the Carpathians

Mental & Spiritual Healing on the Foothills of the Carpathians

In the magnificent mountains surrounding Drohobych in Western Ukraine, there is a quiet but steadfast force at work: faith. Supported by ACT Alliance member Hungarian Interchurch Aid through its Flexible Smal Grants programme, Father Ihor and his Greek Catholic Caritas group have created a spiritual and mental refuge for the many displaced people arriving to…

Return to happiness: Summer camps for displaced children in Ivano-Frankivsk

Return to happiness: Summer camps for displaced children in Ivano-Frankivsk

Far from the concrete jungle, embraced by the forest, rivers, and in close proximity to the mountains, a recreation centre is hosting a summer day camp for children. We are near Ivano-Frankivsk, a city in western Ukraine, where many displaced people found a new home after fleeing the war in the east of the country….

A safe space for displaced children

A safe space for displaced children

Made up by containers, the shelter “modular city” in Lviv, Western Ukraine has become a safe haven for about 1,000 Ukrainians fleeing the war in the east. The neat and modern shelter is also home to many kids – which can be immediately noticed upon entering its courtyard and playground area. Children on rollerblades, bicycles…

A warm shelter for winter

A warm shelter for winter

Hungarian Interchurch Aid has been supporting winterization initiatives. Possible by the sponsorship of Christian Aid, HIA’s long-time partner has implemented the window replacement of kindergartens in the township of Pervomai’skyi, where one-third of the population is internally displaced. The most vulnerable have found refuge in the educational institutions supported by the local authorities.   Alona still…

What’s cooking in Zmiiv?

What’s cooking in Zmiiv?

“I get eight thousand hryvnias (about 200 euros) after two kids. I have to cook separately for my younger son for health reasons, and I can see my daughter has psychological problems after all that we have gone through,” says Natalia when explaining how she tries to look after her children. The situation of the…

Taiwanese-Ukrainian-Hungarian dumpling cook-off in Sopron

Taiwanese-Ukrainian-Hungarian dumpling cook-off in Sopron

The Sopron branch of Hungarian Interchurch Aid has been supporting Ukrainian refugees living in the area since last summer. Aiming to build a community, the staff of the Social and Development Centre have so far held several community-building events for Ukrainian citizens fleeing the war. On Saturday, 28 January, the centre again hosted a community-building…

The orphaned orphanage of Kherson

The orphaned orphanage of Kherson

War tears apart families, sweeping through the most important aspect of life like a storm, preying on the most vulnerable. An orphanage in Kherson, home to fifty-two children and dozens of staff members, was no exception. The family tree symbolizing the bond between the inhabitants of the children’s home stands now as a memory of…

Play areas for the kids living in the shelters of Ivano-Frankivsk

Play areas for the kids living in the shelters of Ivano-Frankivsk

Thanks to the cooperation of Hungarian Interchurch Aid (HIA) and its local partner organisation, NGO ’Centre for Equal Opportunities’, new play areas have been added to 7 institutions supporting internally displaced people in the Ukrainian region of Ivano-Frankivsk. The child-friendly spaces set up in four community shelters and three medical clinics are designed to host…