Support the Supporters!

Project Time: 1. April 2022 – 30. Sept. 2023
Program is granted by: State Ministry of Baden-Württemberg

Empowering those who care — Building resilience through grassroots action

 

Support programme for the International Mothers’ Centre Network members (MINE e.V.), who offer Ukrainian refugee families long-term security, care and help to help themselves.

Planned for the period from December 2023 to November 2026, this initiative stands as a symbol of hope and assistance for those impacted by the ongoing challenges in Ukraine.

When war broke out in Ukraine, hundreds of thousands of mothers and children fled to neighboring countries, seeking safety and security. The international MINE network responded quickly, activating its wide-reaching structure of Mothers’ and Family Centers across the Danube region.

These centers have always been places of care, mutual help, and community — where mothers organize not only for their own wellbeing, but for the collective good. The Support the Supporters programme strengthened this existing foundation by providing targeted funding, coordination, and visibility to grassroots efforts helping refugee families.

The project enabled local centers in Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, Serbia and other neighboring countries to adapt their spaces, counseling, education and participation programs to the needs of displaced Ukrainian families. The focus was not on charity, but on empowerment: women and mothers were encouraged to become active contributors, volunteers, and co-creators of their new communities.

Importantly, the program helped develop sustainable structures that can remain in place even after refugees return or relocate — ensuring that support turns into lasting capacity and shared resilience.

 

As part of the programme, centers shared their experiences in storytelling articles, interviews and videos, showcasing how community-based action can truly make a difference.

Report May 2023

Ukrainian Fund 2nd round

How does applying for a grant fit in with the mothers’ approach?
Behind the scenes of the Mother Nature Association’s project for Ukrainian refugees.

This spring, Mother Nature Association (MoNa) launched a competition to improve the situation of women, mothers and families fleeing Ukraine. We spoke to the leaders of the organisation about the competition, the spirit they represent, their long-term vision, the power and potential of the mother community. My interlocutors were Emese Dömösi, Judith Kiss and Liza Baranyai. 

read more

When Reality Overrides Plans – We talked about the work of the GoodSoul Association to help Ukrainian refugees.

It is an honour and an inspiration to talk to people who have empathy, helpfulness and a willingness to do something. One of the winners of the competition for Ukrainian refugees is the Mezőovácsháza-based JóLélek Műhely Association. We first spoke to Dori Laky, coordinator of the project “Bridge to each other – nature-based activities and leisure activities to help Ukrainian refugees in Csongrád-Csanád County”, when they were preparing for the programmes. A well-developed schedule, different programmes for different locations each day, volunteers precisely scheduled… Then they were faced with reality.

read more

Community and activism give strength to Ukrainian refugee women – we visited the Pontközpont in Miskolc.

A seven-storey workers’ hostel in Miskolc has been housing more than a hundred Ukrainian refugees for months. These families and mothers are being helped to form a community by the “Women united for a life worth living” programme, which is being implemented in cooperation with several organisations. We spoke to Rita Kishonthy-Kardos (Emma Association) and György Rónai (Pontközpont) about the project.

read more

In Veszprém, a Ukrainian community has actually been established and is now self-organising.

We talked to Ági Domonkos, the actor of the Hungarian-Ukrainian company PTAH Theatre, on the terrace of their home in Badacsonytomaj about the project “Playful Sundays for Ukrainian families”. Through the stories, we can gain insight into the importance of mental health support for war refugees, how play and theatre support this, and how these activities have been able to create a community that later became self-organising.

read more

Don’t give fish to the starving, teach them to fish – The Calvary of a Roma Refugee Family in Transcarpathia

In this series, we present the winning organisations and their work in the Mother Nature Association (MoNA) spring competition. In this episode, we’ll look at a Roma refugee family that one of the winning associations is helping to become self-sufficient.

read more

Highlights from our ‘Support the Supporters!’ Project Closing Forum, Stuttgart, Nov 2023