'Budapest Helps!' refugee centre marks one year anniversary

One year after opening its doors, the 'Budapest Helps!' community centre has offered support to almost 12,000 refugees from Ukraine.

Transcript

00:00 One year after opening its doors, the Budapest Helps Community Centre has provided support

00:04 to almost 12,000 refugees from Ukraine.

00:08 Offering everything from social work to community activities for both young and old, the centre

00:12 was set up by the Hungarian Capital's Municipality, the International Organization for Migration

00:17 and the UNHCR.

00:19 It aims to help Ukrainians forced to flee their country integrate into Hungarian society.

00:25 "They arrived in a foreign country where they didn't know anyone, and they had to find their

00:32 place, their new life.

00:34 In this new life, in their new beginning, we try to help them."

00:41 Although Hungary has not joined other EU states in giving Ukraine military support, it does

00:46 provide humanitarian aid.

00:48 The Budapest Helps Centre assists refugees in accessing schooling, healthcare, employment

00:53 and housing, and offers a place to meet their people.

00:57 "This place for me is a place for peace, where they can come to be together with the same

01:05 kids like they are, to do something together, to communicate.

01:09 Parents also can sit here without kids and speak about something, about some problems

01:15 or some happiness that they have in their life."

01:20 Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, more than 35,000 Ukrainian

01:25 refugees have applied for temporary protection in Hungary.

01:30 The work of the centre has been supported by the US State Department, as well as the

01:34 Norwegian, Japanese and Swedish governments.

01:37 [SWOOSH]