A former New York governor is working with a Hungarian company to provide modular homes for internally displaced refugees in Ukraine.
The first shipment of about 20 The foldable units arrived in Solomonovo on April 3 in Zakarpattia Oblast, a village located just across Ukraine’s borders with Hungary and Slovakia.
Former New York Governor George Pataki told CNN.
Pataki’s organization, the George E. Pataki Center for Leadership and Learning, paid Hungary-based Continest to build, ship, and set up units designed to be easily moved and implementation.
“We do not have the resources to provide hundreds of thousands of people in need across Ukraine, but we will do everything we can to provide as many as possible,” Pataki said. “We are providing the first step. We just hope that this is a pattern. ”
“In the factory, everyone is safe – they have heat, they have running water, but they don’t have any privacy,” said Vidor Kis-Márton, CEO of Continest. CEO of Continest. “This is what we can offer them.” He said another 10 units from the Continest will continue to the town of Bucha.
Housing crisis for displaced people
Pataki’s organization has made numerous trips to Ukraine since the Russian invasion, providing food and other supplies. He said they quickly recognized the need for housing for displaced Ukrainians.
International Organization for Migration estimate that at least 7.1 million Ukrainians were internally displaced by the conflict. More than 4.2 million people have left Ukraine since the invasion began in late February, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Pataki expressed concern that charities and nonprofits are doing most of the work to support internally displaced people – and that humanitarian aid from the US and other countries has yet to close. a significant role, at least in the areas he visited.
Kis-Márton hopes the units will stay put until serious efforts can begin to rebuild homes in Ukraine – something he doesn’t predict will happen anytime soon. Meanwhile, he hopes the modular homes will give Ukrainians safety and dignity while the country rebuilds.
“We are thinking of rebuilding,” says Kis-Márton. “The war is not over yet, but the rebirth of Ukraine has really begun.”
