TeddyBusz Reloaded - Aid for Displaced Children

TEDDYBUSZ - One year on and still the need is strong

Teddybusz was born after our organiser saw refugee children arriving in Budapest while on holiday on 27th February. With the help of 3 friends and the local community in Weston-super-Mare, in one week 7000 teddy bears were collected from local children in Bristol and North Somerset.

By day 10, enough sponsorship and donations had been received, and free loan of a 53 seater coach, to set off with “TeddyBusz” on the 2500km drive across France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia and all of Hungary to Zahony, the small frontier town at the Ukraine border.

Between 17th March and 5th May (49 days) our base was Záhony Railway Station. This is one of the primary rail exit routes from Ukraine and since March the shuttle trains have evacuated almost 1 million people on the one-stop journey of 3 miles over the symbolic Tisza River border bridge to freedom from the war.

After paperwork formalities, refugees receive food and comfort at the Záhony Welcome Hub while waiting for trains to Budapest, and onward journeys to new lives all over the world. We welcomed refugees with the powerful, unsaid, message of “you’re safe now” that the gift of a comforting teddy bear implies. We also set up a Children’s Corner for the aid tent, buying toys, cushions and drawing supplies.

Pets also received our care, as food, cat/dog carriers, puppy pad liners, collars and leads, blankets were received with tears of joy by exhausted owners. In one day we handed out 9 boxes for cats that had arrived in jumpers, handbags, or carried in arms.

We were also lucky to cross to Ukraine with a local Doctor and see a refuge centre and children’s hospital and understand their needs – very different to the border crossing.

Residents of Zahony welcomed us into their tight-knit local community despite English being rarely spoken. We saw that independent volunteers like us provided much of the humanitarian support, and a strong-willed group of retired local ladies – led personally by the Mayor – ran the aid tent, making sandwiches, teas & coffees, and serving soup and hot meals – always with a smile and a friendly greeting – for up to 20 hours a day.

Our simple act of giving a teddy bear brought wonderful joy, comfort and a little light relief to everyone whether refugee child, parent, staff or local people and virtually every child arriving in those 49 days received a Bear of Hope from England.

We returned home in June but carried on our work, sorting and packing items that didn't fit on our first trip. We used photos and stories of our trip to show people at home how their items and sponsorship had made a vital difference on the ground.

We took exhibitions to festivals, fetes and shows through the Summer and Autumn and kept in regular contact with volunteer friends at the border, in Ukraine, and around the world.

We responded, with your help, to an appeal for school items for children learning in church and village halls, along with essential basic supplies, in October when we returned for a 10 day visit to Zahony with a full van. Half of the load went directly to the "Power of Uzhhorod" group and from there to displaced families from Eastern Ukraine. Also we stocked the Zahony overnight refuge and aid tent with childrens items, food, tea and coffee and biscuits. Just as importantly, we took a message of support from the Mayor of our home town to the Mayor of Zahony. To accompany this, we took gifts for the hard-working local "key workers" as a show of solidarity and respect for their hard work.

At Christmas we returned again - by air this time - to share Christmas treats from England for the children on both sides of the border, and with the local key workers. There was also a film festival, showcasing films made in the border area during 2022 documenting the war, its effects, and the people. We were welcomed onto the stage to a standing ovation - humbling for a group of non-experienced volunteers from small-town Somerset!

In February 2023 we had a call to help a group in Warsaw educating disabled and children with additional needs. They wanted puppets to help deal with trauma through play, and we also took knitted bears and chocolates.

In March 2023 we will return to Zahony for a reunion with other volunteers as a further show of solidarity with local people. We will also visit our friends in Uzhhorod and deliver essential supplies there as needed at the time.

Some story for what started as a small idea!

Thank you to everyone who has helped so far - the support has been amazing from around the world. But we have to keep helping to keep making a difference, especially now the focus has shifted and the conflict is off our TV screens and out of our newspapers.