Cooperation between organizations assisting refugees arriving from Ukraine: An evaluation of the donations program of Habitat for Humanity Hungary

After the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine started in February 2022, hundreds of thousands of people arrived to Hungary from the war zone. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that between 150,000 and 160,000 refugees from Ukraine were in Hungary in December 2022. Short-term (e.g. for those in transit) and long-term care for families fleeing the war was taken on by municipal social services, NGOs working with refugees and socially vulnerable people, and church organizations. The state did not step up, and thus played a marginal role in providing services to refugees.

The aim of this study is to assess the cooperation between Habitat for Humanity Hungary (HFHH) and five of its partner organizations in the field of in-kind support to refugees. From spring 2022, Habitat for Humanity Hungary provided material goods (household appliances, beds/mattresses and other utility items) to five partner organizations. Furthermore, it provided other services, such as property renovation and conversion on a case-by-case basis. The five beneficiary organizations are: the branch of Caritas Hungary operating in the Greek Catholic Diocese of Nyíregyháza, the Budapest Methodological center of Social Policy and Its Institutions (BMSZKI), the Pest County branch of the Hungarian Red Cross, Kalunba Social Service Non-Profit Ltd (Budapest), and Strázsa Tanya Social Cooperative (Szabadszállás). The research report is based on interviews conducted in April-May 2023 with the five partner organizations and with colleagues of Habitat for Humanity Hungary responsible for program implementation.