TRIPARTITE EFFORT SENDS MEDICAL SUPPLIES TO UKRAINE
Winnipeg based volunteer organization International Hope Canada has teamed up with another local non-profit group, the Ukrainian Professional and Business Club of Winnipeg Inc. to send much needed medical supplies to Lviv in northwestern Ukraine. Together the two groups will fill a 40-foot shipping container with beds, mattresses, bandages, eye testing equipment, sterilizers, crutches, other equipment and medical and operating supplies. A third organization, Evangelical Mission to Ukraine maintains a warehouse in Lviv and will assume the critical role of distributing the goods once they arrive on Ukrainian soil.
Before being packed and loaded into the container every item is weighed, measured, labeled and catalogued. Documentation is extensive and must be precise. Careful translation of all paperwork is also required – an added challenge.
International Hope Canada collects used and redundant items from hospitals, nursing homes and other Manitoba health facilities. Equipment is repaired and warehoused for shipment to communities in need around the world. Partnerships Winnipeg Inc. are necessary to raise the funds needed to cover the cost of shipping goods overseas. Often groups will provide volunteers to assist with packing and container loading.
“This is the ultimate medical recycling program”, said Val McIntyre, International Hope President, “and so many of these items are in short supply or are completely unavailable in many areas of Ukraine.” She went on to explain that many of the things deemed unusable or dated in our health care facilities are a boon in other countries. “We really take our standard of living for granted,” continued McIntyre. “Canadians are largely unaware how severely limited health care resources are globally. For example, in Ukraine, even ICU patients must supply their own bed sheets.”
Ukrainian Professional and Business Club of Winnipeg President, Sylvia Todaschuk, expressed gratitude for the partnership opportunity. “A project of this magnitude could not have happened without the wonderful association with International Hope and we are grateful to our member Dr. Bronislav Gorski for introducing our two organizations in 2004,“ said Todaschuk. “This is the second container to be sent to Lviv this year and we know the recipient communities are appreciative.”
“Partnership with other organizations is vital to our success,” said McIntyre. “What is most important is that representatives in our community can establish reliable contacts in the recipient countries to ensure the safe distribution of these goods. It’s rewarding to be able to assist both the Ukrainian Professional and Business Club of Winnipeg and the Evangelical Mission to Ukraine in this project,” she concluded.
The Joe Brain Foundation, established by a successful prospector from Flin Flon, Manitoba, supported the first shipment to Lviv, Winnipeg’s sister city. With the help of the Mennonite Benevolent Society, five other containers have been sent to urban centers in eastern Ukraine where supplies were also shared among clinics, hospitals, nursing homes and orphanages in smaller neighbouring communities.
Other countries supported through International Hope initiatives have included Cuba, St. Vincent, Jamaica, The Grenadines, Dominican Republic, Malawi, Zambia, Uganda, Sudan, Nigeria, Congo, Senegal, Pakistan, Indonesia and others.
International Hope Canada is a grass-roots, interdenominational, not-for-profit, all-volunteer organization that provides medical and surgical supplies and equipment to impoverished and developing countries, through the collection, warehousing, and sharing of obsolete and discarded materials from local and regional hospitals and other Manitoba health care institutions.
Membership of the Ukrainian Professional and Business Club of Winnipeg Inc. is composed of individuals of Ukrainian descent, active in the business community. Established in 1943, the goal of the organization is to foster and promote influential leadership in the cultural, economic and political interests of the Ukrainian community locally and throughout Canada. The group supports a variety of educational and cultural programs and institutions, offers business mentoring through lectures and presentations, sponsors a student award program, and presents cultural celebrations and family activities.