2024 Oct 1/ Day 3: The Harsh Reality. Visiting injured soldiers at Vynohradiv's hospital and delivering supplies to Munkachevo's Pediatric Clinic

A day to deliver new bed sets for all all little patient, washer-dryer and fridges at Munkachevo Pediatric Clinic, the largest hospital for kids in the region, treating over 10.000 kids a year. We also looked at possible new aid projects. The hardest part was visiting Vynohradive's City Hospital's rehabilitation clinic for injured soldiers. There is a huge need for help, to deliver medical equipment.

"Today is very hard to get out of your head”

Alex’s concise summary of our most intense day in Ukraine so far.  

At our dinner last night, a commander who was supposed to be with us was instead represented by his wife and mother. Today, we find out why - the Russians have encircled Vuhledar, where his troops are trapped. Out of 200 troops, he has been able to rescue 50 so far. His wife and his mother gave gracious speeches - both seemed quiet and contemplative throughout that evening. Having had dinner with them yesterday is giving us have a different context as we are reading the BBC story “Russians claim key city of Vuhledar in Ukraine's east” on our phones today.

Zakarpattia Regional Children's Hospital

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In the morning we visited the Zakarpattia Regional Children's Hospital where we handed over donated bedding, washing machines, and a large refrigerator. Small donations - it’s our first project here and we’re giving a few items mainly to test out the partnership. What the hospital really needs is a new machine for laparoscopic surgery, which costs $50K. We promised we would stay in touch. 

On the side of the hospital is a dropbox for babies. Complete with gruesome instructions at the top. Parents have 24 hours to change their mind - they lose parental rights after that. 

Rehabilitation Center for injured soldiers at Vynohradiv

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In the afternoon we visited the Rehabilitation Center for injured soldiers at Vynohradiv. There are three floors - on the second and third floor, the center has equipment for soldiers to rehabilitate. The first floor is reserved for palliative care - care whose primary aim is no longer rehabilitation, but simply minimizing pain and providing comfort. One of the soldiers on the first floor is proud that he received a phone call from Zelenskyy - Ukraine’s President - thanking him for his service. It is hard for us to figure out the right words to say - we hope that our simple presence lifts these soldier’s spirits; in hindsight it is hard to see anything that could. Outside of rehabilitation equipment, the staff says that TVs would be the most needed items here, and for some reason that sounds like a truly urgent and important need to me.   

The hardest part of the day came after that. We drove to the houses of two widows to hand over money and household appliances, small things but enough to make a real difference in these women’s lives. In Ukraine, like in other war-torn countries, a widow does not get a fallen soldier’s pension until the body of her husband is identified and recovered. This is obviously hard to do in a war. Compounding the challenge is that Ukraine’s political leadership has incentives to minimize the official body count and military officers have incentives to prolong the recovery process so they can continue to collect money for their troops. So these widows are currently living off their savings with very little government assistance. 

One of the widows has three kids. Her 23-year-old son is fighting in the war. Her 10-year-old is at home and was politely serving us coffee and beer. Her 7-year-old daughter found out about her dad’s death on the playground when other kids teased her about it. “Your dad is dead and mine is not.” 

The other widow was a petite woman who greeted us hunched over and seemed frightened, not just by us, but by the world. Her husband was beheaded. His death was recorded on his cell phone and the video was sent to her from his phone.

Every day, this region loses soldiers at the front with stories like these.  

Program

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How can you help?

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We have several projects, looking for sponsorship. If you would like to work with us, join these missions, please get in touch!

If you are in the United States, don't hesitate to get in touch with Alex Davern, who will be coordinating the funds donated to this purpose: alexdavern@gmail.com 

If you are in Hungary or you have a smaller contribution to make, please contact Zsuzsanna Bozo, in Hungary. Send a message here: directaidforukrainecharity@gmail.com 

On behalf of Team DIRECTAIDFORUKRAINE.ORG