Hundreds of our Ukrainian colleagues lived in Székesfehérvár before the war and they worked for different VIDEOTON member companies, also supporting their families from here. Of course, they were primarily worried about their loved ones back home when the war broke out; therefore, we immediately began to organize their safe transportation to Hungary. In the first weeks of the war, we were able to accommodate a total of 33 people, including 22 children, in a dormitory in Székesfehérvár. Once there were no more free rooms there, we set up residential rooms in the offices of a former production building not being used at present, where another 40 people (currently 21 adults and 19 children with them) moved in during March-April. We are expecting about 10 more refugees there, and before they arrive we want to make the building more comfortable. VIDEOTON also provides free meals for families, and in cooperation with a private school in Székesfehérvár, the education of primary school students has been organized with the help of Ukrainian-speaking, partially refugee teachers. We also provided a school bus and did the renovation of a classroom.

Due to the situation, there was a need for spiritual assistance for the refugees, so with the help of VIDEOTON, the opening hours of the local Orthodox church were extended and adjusted to the work schedule of employees. In addition, the St. Liturgy was introduced on Saturdays, which has become popular among refugees and –since according to our information, Ukrainian believers are already coming from other, more distant places – it proves to be a national gap -now partly filled.

Given that VIDEOTON is still struggling with a labour shortage, we are trying to provide an opportunity for those who are able to work, in areas that cannot be filled with Hungarian employees. Compared to the pre-war period, now there are approx. 100 more Ukrainian employees in our member companies, in many places facilitating the usual high-quality customer service.

Although many people have left their homeland, there is also a significant number of refugees in western Ukraine. Taking care of their needs is great difficulty for an already war-torn country. Therefore, VIDEOTON HOLDING ZRt., together with the VIDEOTON Foundation for Workers, has delivered goods in value of total 3.5 million HUF to Transcarpathian villages through the Hungarian Reformed Church Aid, with which we want to facilitate the caretaking of refugees from other parts of Ukraine.

Rativci, Velyki Heyivtsi, and Sjurte are mostly Hungarian-inhabited villages around Uzhhorod, where hundreds of refugees from eastern and central Ukraine have had to be accommodated and cared for due to the war. Refugees mostly live in kindergartens, schools, and community centres, but many locals have also offered their own homes for this purpose. The people living in the villages provide food for the families, which places an increasing financial and logistical burden on the communities.

VIDEOTON has been in contact with these villages since 2015: so far we have helped the municipalities with a total donation of € 120,000 so that they could buy food aid packages for families raising children under the age of 14. Now, however, the donation would not have been a solution due to the increasingly serious shortage of goods, so after the needs were assessed, the shipment was put together in Hungary. The truck containing a total of 15 pallets of durable food (flour, sugar, cooking oil, pasta, rice, canned vegetables, spices, sweets, snacks), baby food, household and baby hygiene products arrived at the warehouse of the Hungarian Reformed Church Aid in Beregdaróc on May 4, 2022, from where everything was delivered to three Ukrainian villages the next day.

VIDEOTON provides its own employees with a summer vacation in the company-owned holiday homes by Lake Balaton. Without limiting the vacation framework of our own employees, we are now extending this to refugees staying with us: we are offering them accommodation in one of our resorts in Zánka. In addition, we plan to accommodate children and families living in the Transcarpathian settlements in our children's camp, which is currently unused, but is also being renovated, and is expected to be given finishing touches during July-August.