As of today, almost 3 million refugees have fled from Ukraine due to the war, leaving their homes, their loved ones, and their lives behind. People all around the globe are watching with a heavy heart as this humanitarian crisis continues to unfold.
But there is much we can do, even in a small way, to try to alleviate the suffering of the refugees. Toilets for People (TFP) is committed to this, but we need your help.
In response to the humanitarian crisis, TFP is collaborating with a Hungarian NGO, the Hungarian Charity Organization of the Order of Malta (“Maltai”, maltai.hu), which is responsible for assisting refugees at the Beregsurány crossing on the Ukrainian-Hungarian border. Thousands of refugees are passing through this crossing every day. Maltai is providing food, a hot drink and a place to rest for a few hours or a half day before continuing their long journey.
Unfortunately, Maltai is currently having capacity issues with their existing temporary sanitation infrastructure, which includes a few porta potties and a mobile bathroom trailer. This results in longer waits by refugees to use the bathroom - increasing their stress. Maltai is seeking assistance from TFP to provide self-contained toilet fixtures to relieve this stress.
There are also some areas close to the border which lack bathrooms entirely. In these areas, going to the bathroom in the forest is not a safe or hygienic option. The easy mobility and self-contained nature of TFP toilets can be of much assistance in these areas as well.
As a pilot effort, TFP has agreed to donate an assortment of our toilet products and coordinate the delivery of these products to Maltai’s staging location warehouse in Budapest. Since the current situation on the ground is challenging and uncertain, they have requested these products be delivered as quickly as possible.
Donors to TFP’s non-profit affiliate have agreed to cover the expenses for the flights and the small stipend. This is where you come in.
TFP is seeking 2 to 3 volunteers to act as couriers and trainers to both bring these toilet products to Budapest and provide training to Maltai staff on how to maintain them. This would require the volunteers to come to our fabrication facility in Brooklyn, New York, spend 3 hours there to get trained on the fabrication and use of the toilet products.
We are offering a free round-trip ticket from New York to Budapest and a 200 USD stipend (for cab, food, etc). In return, we would need the volunteers to get the toilets delivered to the warehouse of the NGO in Budapest, spend at least 2 hours at the Maltai warehouse putting the toilets together and training the staff on their use and maintenance. Finally, we would ask volunteers to take some pictures and video with the Maltai for future fundraising and social media purposes.
Interested parties can fill in our questionnaire by Saturday, March 19, 12 noon.