Comprehensive help from a single organization

Support in housing and everyday life. It would be too long to list how much we owe to the Terre des hommes Foundation, who stood by us in recent months and not only helped the Transcarpathian refugees, but also thought of the colleagues of the Dorcas Ministries.

We have already mentioned the Terre des hommes Foundation on several occasions, but now we would like to present to you in a little more detail what they have contributed to the lives of the people living and working here.Over the course of months, two dedicated employees of the Foundation became an integral part of the Refugee Center. In addition to the refugees, training sessions on various social topics were also held for Dorcas employees. Since August, the refugee coordinators have been able to learn, among other things, about forms of abuse, non-violent communication, Roma culture, and the ethical code of social work.

"The employees can be said to be infinitely flexible. Both with us and the residents. They were receptive throughout the training sessions and this greatly helped our cooperation." - This is how Tünde Ménesi, trainer of Terre des hommes, remembers the joint work.

They visited us on a weekly basis. We knew that if it was Wednesday, then for the workers, and if it was Friday, then for the residents, they would prepare a presentation on some interesting topic.

Even though the organization's main target group is children, and children's rights, this does not preclude the provision of support to parents in this hopeless period. Educational sessions were typical for the younger ones, and they wanted to emphasize a conscious lifestyle for the adults. Parental rights and obligations, goal identification, the role of women and men in the family were discussed, thanks to which the campers could learn a lot of new and useful things. Thanks to the lectures, they received a level of knowledge that helps them in everyday life and to start an independent life.Tünde gave most of the lectures, thus building a kind of trusting relationship with the refugees. The women told him that this joint activity on Friday was the only opportunity for them to relax.

"Many topics were taboo for the women living here. And during the training sessions, we delved into topics that opened up a new world for them. It should be known that until now they lived in a small village, a small community. Their everyday life consisted of cooking and washing for their husbands and children. They didn't even think that any other life was possible besides this."

During one of the performances, the women had a session in which they had to create a skills tree. At the beginning, they didn't know what they could write on the sheet as their positive qualities, many thought they were not good at anything. They only needed a little encouragement and it turned out that cooking or sewing skills are also considered their main virtues. They didn't believe that they would understand anything, but after completing the skill tree, it became clear how many valuable resources they had. One of the women was moved to tears and wanted to take it home to show her husband the finished work.

The men also learned during the lectures. Joint trips were organized for the family. They went to Budapest, where many saw the subway and bridges for the first time. Most of the men work in Pest, so they are not unfamiliar with life in the big city, but the women have just visited the capital for the first time, so this is a lifelong experience for them.

"One of the women told me that she had a big dream to see Lake Balaton, which she was able to make come true thanks to the joint family trip"

In addition to the training, they also helped the needy with packages of hygiene products, vitamins for the children, and clothes shopping vouchers.

In the name of health preservation, not only training, but also screening tests were organized for the residents of the Refugee Center. At the end of November, everyone over the age of 14 could shed light on possible problems with a blood test. Many people were afraid of the needle and the sight of blood. They said that they did not often conduct such tests in Ukraine, as a result of which several of the refugees had their blood drawn for the first time.

With winter approaching, we had to find a solution as soon as possible in order to safely accommodate the people living here. The container houses arrived, but we needed financing for the equipment and winterization, and for this we could count on the patronage of Terre des hommes.It is important to mention that the Foundation supports five organizations that host refugees in Hungary. 

In the course of the joint work, they made it possible for us, the employees of Dorcas, to meet these civil organizations, so that the experienced professionals could exchange professional experience with each other. In order for this initiative to be realized and operational, the work of Terre des hommes is financed by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).