Helping Roma refugees in Ukraine with support from German SODI

Preparations for the project "NGOs for Roma Refugees" started at the end of 2023: our sponsor, SODI, provides humanitarian assistance to victims of natural disasters, wars and civil wars. In this project, it helps Roma who have fled from Ukraine. 

The Roma refugees in Hungary, whose native language will be Hungarian and who will leave in 2022 due to Russian aggression, are in a particularly difficult situation. It was they, the Roma community of Transcarpathia, who largely chose Hungary as the destination of their emigration. They had neither the contacts nor the capital to leave for Western Europe. Even among them, the least support went to those who settled not too far from the Ukrainian-Hungarian border, in Szabolcs-Szatmár and Hajdú-Bihar counties. This is why the project focuses on these two counties, as they were the most affected.  

2023. In April, these families had been living in very poor conditions, without financial support and in mass shelters for more than a year. This placed a huge psychological burden on them, and it was important to provide targeted and complex support and to facilitate individual access to housing. 

At our suggestion, the German donor also approved support for members of the local Roma community in need, which has significantly facilitated the reception of Roma refugees in Transcarpathia and reduced local tensions.  

Who we work with, who we work for 

• Roma refugee families from Ukraine 

• we focus on children's development, their integration in school and their literacy learning 

• building the capacity of local organisations 

This is what we do during the programme 

The three small, Roma community-based "grassroots" is implemented in partnership with associations in Szabolcs-Szatmár and Hajdú-Bihar counties, complemented by a fourth association in the capital, which provides housing support.  

The Partners Hungary Foundation management-organiser and at the same time capacity building for Roma organisations provides. 

This is of great importance for the success of the project, as Roma organisations are aware of the multiple vulnerabilities of Roma refugees, which are exacerbated by their ethnic background. Roma NGOs can provide targeted support, addressing these vulnerabilities and helping Roma refugees to integrate into their host communities. They should also have cultural and linguistic knowledge and expertise on the Roma community.  

Duration of the project 

2024 March-December 

The professional partners involved in the project: 

• the Daytime Operators Association,  

• the Somnakuno Drom Association of Nagykálló,  

• the XXI. Century Roma Women's Association of Nyíregyháza  

• from Budapest Street to Flat! Association.