Congress Center in Prague: Volunteers are missing
The “Congressman” at Vyšehrad continues to deal with the huge influx of refugees. Volunteers registered through the Wave of Help initiative, who numbered around 5,000 as of March 16, are mainly able to manage the onslaught. “Without exaggeration, I can say that without the selfless and immediate help of volunteers, we would not be able to run a metropolitan assistance center at all. On the contrary, they could have closed it right away, ”says Mayor Zdeněk Hřib (Pirates).
The Wave of Help initiative enables fast and effective volunteer coordination through a web application. Everyone who is currently interested in helping in more parts of the country can easily register at vlnapomoci.cz website. According to David Susik from The Wave of Aid, as many hours were worked as in more than a year.
Prague center
According to the KACPU municipality, the most congested assistance center in the country remains in the Prague Congress Center. Volunteers work about 250 shifts a day. However, the influx of refugees has not stopped, so at the end of the mundane week the need for hours worked was roughly doubled. Other places in Prague are information stands at the main railway station and at the Florenc bus station.
“Volunteers are for the vast majority of people fleeing Ukraine their first contact with our country and culture. They arrive exhausted, full of stress and worries about their loved ones, which they left in Ukraine, “says Milena Johnová (Prague Sobě), Councilor for Social Policy and Health Care.
The center needs interpreters, but non-linguistic volunteers are also welcome for a variety of assistance. Volunteers help refugees with interpretation in obtaining suffering visas, health insurance and work permits or to obtain social benefits. Centrum serves newcomers from Ukraine 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Transfer from Kongresák to Prague 9
“Today, the Crisis Staff recommended that the assistance center be moved from the premises of the Prague Congress Center to the premises of the former Komerční banka near the Vysočanská metro station on April 14 at the latest,” informs Mayor Zdeněk Hřib. The city will receive the building on loan free of charge. The municipality does not want to block the center indefinitely. Prague sent its people to the site to check the new location. It has a smaller capacity than the “Congressman”, instead of 3600 Ukrainians it handles 2700 of them a day.
A center for Ukrainian refugees has started operating in the Congress Center in Vyšehrad, Prague. It will work non-stop. (March 4, 2022) Jan Zázvorka
War refugees from Ukraine in the Regional Assistance Center for Assistance to Ukraine hl. m of Prague and the Central Bohemian Region. (March 10, 2022)
Author: CNC / Alexandr Malachovsky