By providing essential information on a large array of topics, ranging from medical and legal aid to accommodation, education and pets crossing, this initiative aims to support Ukrainians entering Hungary and starting a new life in Europe.
Right after the start of the war in Ukraine, a group of Hungarian volunteers launched Ukraine Help. Namely, it is an open source starting page that aims to provide all the people escaping from Ukraine to Hungary with timely and necessary information to cross the border and what to do once in.
The website is set on 3 languages, i.e. English, Hungarian and Ukrainian. At the very beginning of the long list provided by Ukraine Help, the users can have a quick look at the essential information on what will happen to the people fleeing Ukraine once they enter Budapest.
Additional practical info and advice outlined range from the 24/7 green line launched by the Hungarian government to help asylum seekers, to legal aid on matters related to sexual and work exploitation, and further references regarding the website of Budapest Helps (an information point temporarily established by the Municipality of Budapest) as well as mobile and internet access together with transport via train and air.
The website then displays a spring board with useful information to address most of the practical needs that an asylum seeker might have. By way of example, the board lays out several hotlines for emergencies and medical help for both children and adults, explains the procedure of border crossing while referring to official online sources, and suggests various means of transportation such as railways, public transport, taxi, highways, motorways as well as airports.
Moreover, there is a lot of valuable info on accommodation and food. The website indeed links to a live map of volunteers providing free housing, which displays collection points, distribution centres, companion animals shelters and accommodations.
Source: Assistance - Ukraine, Live map, available at this link.
On top of that, further information is provided to help Ukrainian families navigate Hungarian children-related laws and regulations, namely kindergarten, schools and mandatory education, daycare and higher education.
Moreover, there is space reserved for queries on pets and animals (e.g. the ‘Vets for Ukraine’ initiative, striving to facilitate the transport of pet animals from Ukraine to the EU Member States), employment, currency exchanges and international online banking applications.
Finally, at the end of the page users can find several websites of humanitarian organisations that might help them in the process.
The website is open source and published on GitHub.