On Thursday, Miklós Soltész, the state secretary for church and ethnic relations of the Prime Minister’s Office, delivered charity donations collected by the Hungarian Reformed Church Aid for the victims of an earthquake that hit central Croatia last December.
Soltész handed over the 5 million forints (EUR 14,000) raised by the charity organization to Vlado Kosic, the bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of Sziszek (Sisak).
Hungarian charity organizations have raised more than 100 million forint for those affected by the earthquake, Soltész said.
He noted that alongside charity groups, the Hungarian government and Hungary’s ethnic Croatian community are also providing aid to the Balkan country.
The government has committed to rebuilding a school in the town of Petrinja and a church in Zazina, in central Croatia, the state secretary said. He added that it is also supporting the renovation of a Carmelite church together with Croatian organizations in Hungary using 15 million forints.
Hungary is also providing humanitarian aid to Croatia by organizing summer camps for Croatian children in Hungary, Soltész said.
István Oláh, head of the Hungarian Reformed Church Aid’s board of trustees, said the 5 million forints had been raised from small donations over the course of a month.
The 5.2 and 6.3 magnitude earthquakes hit central Croatia on Dec 28-29, killing seven people and injuring 28.
In the featured photo illustration: Petrinja after the earthquake. Photo by MTI/EPA/Antonio Bat
