A friend in need – Serhiy & Anatoliy

A friend in need – Serhiy & Anatoliy

A long, dusty road leads through the steppes of Kherson Oblast: it brings us to Zahradivka, a small agricultural village. The settlement has 406 residents, one shop-post office, a primary school and one support point – run by Hungarian Interchurch Aid (HIA) with financing from the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund (UHF). Here, various services and types…

Not forgotten: indispensable help for frontline residents

Not forgotten: indispensable help for frontline residents

Residents of Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts were among the first to witness the horrors of war: destruction, deprivation, even partial or full occupation. Tens of thousands have fled their homes, but many of them have stay behind under daily shelling and in constant fear for their lives and livelihoods. Nevertheless, they are not forgotten….

Happily-ever-after – unusual help requests from frontline residents

Happily-ever-after – unusual help requests from frontline residents

Optimism is not a matter of circumstances for 73-year-old Natalia, resident of Orikhiv – a city located only a couple of kilometres away from the line of contact. She married her now-husband, age 78 with the help of the humanitarian support point of the settlement. Bombed and shelled every day, most of its residents have…

Warm apartments for frontline Kherson

Warm apartments for frontline Kherson

Heat is the most important component of survival for Kherson residents in the winter of 2023-2024. With critical infrastructure still being targeted, supplying heat to the homes of Kherson residents is a challenging job in a hostile context. However, thanks to the cooperation of the NGO “League of Socially Responsible Women” and Hungarian Interchurch Aid…

Light returns to Saltivka

Light returns to Saltivka

Eerie and desolate: it’s hard to believe that Saltivka used to be the most densely populated not only in Kharkiv, but also in Ukraine. The war changed everything, the city was one of the first cities to face the attack of the invading Russian military. Results are clearly visible in the neighbourhood: even today, 80%…

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…

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…