Relief efforts in Kherson disturbed by shelling

Relief efforts in Kherson disturbed by shelling

“We were able to help at a very important moment” said Barnabas Szatmári, Hungarian Interchurch Aid’s Emergency Response Director for Ukraine, talking about HIA’s rapid humanitarian response to the floods caused by the explosion at the Nova Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant.  The two-pronged aid programme is aimed at supporting both the affected population directly as…

“We have survived everything so far, but now our homes are flooded”

“We have survived everything so far, but now our homes are flooded”

Hungarian Interchurch Aid is supporting the people of the settlements flooded by the Nova Kakhovka dam explosion with successive aid operations. Thanks to its constant presence in the region since its liberation in November last year, HIA has been able to respond immediately to the needs that have arisen following the catastrophe. The first aid consignment…

Continuous presence and successive aid operations in flooded Kherson Oblast

Continuous presence and successive aid operations in flooded Kherson Oblast

The first, 20-ton consignment of emergency aid has already arrived to the frontline city of Kherson. HIA’s next relief operations will also focus on the phase after the water recedes, to facilitate restoration of normal life with the donation of water pumps and electric generators. Barnabas Szatmári, Hungarian Interchurch Aid’s Emergency Response Director in Ukraine…

Immediate relief to evacuees following Nova Kakhovka dam explosion

Immediate relief to evacuees following Nova Kakhovka dam explosion

With the explosion and following spillover of the Dnipro dam at Nova Kakhovka a humanitarian disaster threatens several towns, villages and Kherson city itself. Local government officials claim that 16 thousand people are affected by the resulting flooding. Evacuation has begun and HIA humanitarians are distributing 350 emergency aid kits to those fleeing rising water…

Renovating shelters and homes in Ukraine’s war-ravaged South

Renovating shelters and homes in Ukraine’s war-ravaged South

Blue jackets in the governor’s office: HIA Emergency Response Director Barnabás Szatmári met with Oleksandr Prokudin, head of Kherson Regional Military Administration to discuss results, ongoing projects and possibilities of further assistance. On their trip to Southern Ukraine the HIA team assessed the state of public infrastructure such as schools, public institutions and their shelters…

Freedom under missiles is still better than living in fear

Freedom under missiles is still better than living in fear

The liberation of Kherson came at a price. Upon their withdrawal from the port city in southern Ukraine, the Russian invaders cut Kherson off from public services depriving the tens of thousands of residents of electricity, heating and running water. Free as it is, the city now faces ever-increasing artillery strikes from the other, still-occupied…

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…

HIA-delivered electric generators provide power to Kherson’s critical infrastructure

HIA-delivered electric generators provide power to Kherson’s critical infrastructure

The 46 power generators were donated by the Government of Hungary and were handed over to Hungarian Interchurch Aid (HIA) by Hungarian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Levente Magyar in the presence of HIA President-Director László Lehel, and Ukrainian state officials. HIA has made good on its promise and delivered the much-needed engines…

The hardships of freedom

The hardships of freedom

After the Russian withdrawal, the people of Kherson face new hardships in exchange for their freedom. The town was cut off from all utilities by Russian forces, leaving residents without electricity, water and heating as winter sets in. Although many are choosing to stay even in the almost total absence of services, the conditions in…