Relief for Ukraine
As the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues, basic resources and services are increasingly important to provide relief. Utah Valley University has shown their support of Ukraine in many ways, and there are resources on- and off-campus that are dedicated to helping Ukraine.
According to KSL News, Lina Varionova, a student at UVU, created a fund that delivered supplies and food to those in need in Ukraine. She helped create this fund here at UVU to get supplies to people who need it in the war zone trying to do what she can to support them while stateside.
UNICEF USA has an emergency team that is delivering water to families and communities in need. They note the disproportionate effect this has on children, stating, “Hundreds of thousands of people needed help accessing safe water to drink. With so many schools damaged or lacking resources, additional support was needed to help children continue with their education.” They are providing health care, nutrition and education support where services are severely lacking or have shut down entirely.
Another notable initiative is spearheaded by Médecins Sans Frontieres or Doctors Without Borders. Their main focus is raising money to expand medical and humanitarian response in Ukraine and neighboring countries to meet their evolving needs. Ukraine had been struggling with health care even before the conflict, according to Medecins Sans Frontieres.
“Not everyone can treat patients in the field. But everyone can do something,” said Medecins Sans Frontieres. Donors make it possible for them to mobilize quickly and efficiently to provide life-saving medical care to the people who need it most, whether those needs are in the spotlight or not.
Voices of Children is an organization that specializes in providing psychological and psychosocial support to children that have been affected by the war. These services are intended to help them overcome the consequences of armed conflict and develop.
“Children shudder from explosions and shots. They wake up with the shrill sounds of sirens and fall asleep in the basements,” according to Voices of Children. “Kindergartens, maternity hospitals, shelters where families seek some safety are becoming targets, children need our common help.”
Finally, Sunflowers of Peace put together by Katya Malakhova is a fundraiser that prepares first-aid medical, tactical backpacks for paramedics and doctors on the front lines.
“Each backpack has the ability to save up to 10 lives: Ukrainian soldiers, civilians, volunteers, and children,” according to Malakhova, “these backpacks are designed for a second level of medical care in terms of combat action, according to the standards of tactical medicine (Tactical Combat Casualty Care), namely the level of paramedics, arrow-sanitary department.”
To learn more about how to support Ukraine visit the websites listed above and read about how UVU has supported Ukraine via this website and this article.