Themes by tag: volunteers

Olena is a female chaplain who visits Ukrainian defenders in the hottest spots at the frontline. She prays with the military and supplies them with humanitarian aid. And bedsides, Olena had brought to life the chaplain’s initiative to create a mobile dental clinic (where both military and civilians are treated).

• religion
• volunteers
• women

Fuminori Tsuchiko, a 75-year-old Japanese volunteer, spent nine months of the war in the Kharkiv subway, where he helped locals. Now he lives in Kharkiv. Together with his assistants, he will distribute food to all those in need in the coming days. The funds for this food were raised thanks to donations from concerned Japanese.

• volunteers
• Kharkiv

“Ukrainian Women Veteran Movement” NGO is a community of women with military experience in Ukraine. The NGO takes care of about a thousand female veterans and new recruits: from advocating for the rights of female defenders to providing ammunition, basic hygiene products, cars, medical supplies, and drones. The mission of the organization is a professional army, where equal rights are guaranteed to both women and men.

On the first day of the full-scale invasion, a rapid response headquarters was set up on the basis of the movement to cover the needs of the military and civilians. The headquarters has its own workshop, where women’s military uniforms and camouflage cloaks are made. They also have a workshop for weaving camouflage nets, a drone workshop, etc.

• military
• volunteers
• women
• Kyiv

The Ukrainian-Israeli medical volunteer movement FRIDA Ukraine has been helping civilians since the beginning of russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In particular, they provide medical consultations, perform surgeries, evacuate people and distribute medicines. Volunteer doctors (of various specialties) travel to regions (for example, to Kharkiv, Kherson, or Donetsk oblasts), where they help local residents who complain about their health. There are also foreign doctors among the volunteers.

Journalists are invited to join the team of medical volunteers during their future trips to the de-occupied territories.

For reference: FRIDA Ukraine is a non-governmental, non-profit Ukrainian-Israeli charitable mission of volunteer doctors who, since the beginning of the invasion, have been providing emergency and outpatient medical care to the civilian population in the war-affected regions. 

• doctors
• volunteers

For the second time, “volunteer paratroopers” are being trained in Odesa to go to Kherson. Those who volunteered will pack and unload the humanitarian aid, as well as deliver it to the addresses, explains the coordination headquarters for humanitarian aid in Odesa region. Some of the volunteers will work in villages near the city. One of the tasks they will face is clearing the rubble. Therefore, there is a need for drivers of special vehicles.Departure to Kherson is planned for the middle of February, and the volunteer work will last for at least two months.

For reference: 11 people from Kyiv, Odesa, the UK and the U.S. worked in Kherson as part of the first such mission, which lasted 10 days. 

• casualties
• reconstruction
• volunteers
• Kherson
• Odesa

In Odesa, barbers give free haircuts to Ukrainian soldiers. Within almost a year, more than 200 defenders of the country visited the barbershop. Journalists can talk to the hairstylists and, if possible, film them work.

• military
• volunteers
• Odesa

On February 16, the star of the TV series Game of Thrones Jack Gleason, who played the role of King Joffrey, will visit Ukraine for the first time.

Jack will stay in Ukraine for 3-4 days. During this time, he will hold several acting master classes and workshops, and will meet with Ukrainian military personnel. He will also take part in charity fundraisers and auctions in support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and will visit the capital’s theaters.

The actor will get to Ukraine in a pickup truck, which he and his friends are delivering to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

• culture
• volunteers

Jerzy Jurczyński from Poznań in Poland clears debris together with rescuers from Kharkiv. The 55-year-old Pole with 10 years of mountaineering experience came to Ukraine in June as a coordinator of humanitarian aid from a Polish charitable foundation. Currently, he is the only foreigner in the team of Kharkiv climbers. He cleared the debris in schools, residential buildings and industrial zones destroyed by russian shells. In particular, he cleared the rubble in part of the city with the most destruction — Saltivka. He also helped rescuers eliminate the consequences of russia’s February 5 attack on the city center.

In addition, Jerzy Jurczyński often brings aid to the front.

• casualties
• reconstruction
• volunteers
• Kharkiv

Since the beginning of the all-out war, volunteers of “Save Ukraine” charitable foundation have brought back 44 children who had been deported to russia and occupied Crimea. To do this, they even had to organize rescue operations. Volunteers also actively evacuate children from the war zone.

Journalists can ask Mykola Kuleba, Founder of “Save Ukraine”, Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for Children’s Rights (2014-2021) about how these processes take place, what difficulties have to be overcome in order to save deported children and those in the danger zone. You can find out more about the legal issues of the return of young Ukrainians from the foundation’s lawyer.

For reference: according to Children of War, a state platform for searching for missing children, as of February 7, more than 16,000 Ukrainian children were deported by the occupiers.

• casualties
• children
• occupation
• russian crimes
• volunteers

“Riding into the Future” project holds therapeutic horse riding classes for military personnel who have musculoskeletal disorders and amputated limbs after participating in combat.

The project was founded by a married couple of Oleksandra and Vasyl. Now Vasyl himself is at the front, so Oleksandra, together with Natalka, the founder of “DoloniDotyk” (a Touch of a Hand) NGO holds horse riding classes for wounded soldiers every week.

• animals
• casualties
• military
• volunteers
• Lviv