By Jake McGrew | President
On March 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the novel coronavirus (COVID) outbreak a global pandemic. Nine days later, Peace Corps Ukraine evacuated all volunteers – our main in-country network – back to the United States. When it became obvious that Bridge to Ukraine (B2U) could not safely or effectively run the Youth Bank program in Ukraine, the entire Bridge to Ukraine team felt very discouraged. We had been planning the relaunch of the program for almost a year and we were excited to train and fund our first group of Ukrainian youth leaders. However, we also decided something needed to be done to support Ukrainian doctors and hospitals. In Ukraine, State funding for hospitals covers only electricity and meager staff salaries. The lack of funds to buy PPE and medical equipment has been a key challenge for Ukrainian hospitals. While the pandemic keeps rapidly growing, about one-fifth of positive COVID cases every day in Ukraine are doctors. Without charitable donations, hospitals would not be able to afford enough PPE or ventilators to help all patients, leading to countless deaths.
The Bridge to Ukraine team decided it would be best to partner with an established organization in Ukraine because (1) timeliness was extremely important, and (2) an organization in Ukraine would know which hospitals had the most need for funds. After thorough research and discussion, we reached out to Charitable Foundation “Patients of Ukraine” ( ). As of July 3, 2020, the Charitable Foundation “Patients of Ukraine” has raised 19,266,699 UAH (about 695,000 USD) over three months to protect healthcare professionals. This money has been used to purchase protective gear for over 7,500 doctors, paramedics, and nurses in 174 hospitals in all regions of Ukraine. We reached out to Patients of Ukraine and asked them for permission to raise funds on their behalf. They accepted our offer, and we were off to the races!
Our original plan was to set a high goal so even if we did not reach our goal and were close enough, we would have still raised a substantial amount. Our original goal was 10,000 USD. While we raised about half that amount at 4,000 USD (about 105,000 UAH), we were still quite happy with this amount considering the current state of the global economy. These funds were sent to Patients of Ukraine and used to buy PPE for four hospitals in Odessa and Donetsk regions. The PPE purchased with these funds includes 1700 isolation gowns, 1000 gloves, 500 respirator masks, and 1000 surgical masks. This equipment will allow Ukrainian doctors and nurses to continue treating Ukrainians with COVID without themselves contracting the virus.
While no one could have predicted our current situation with COVID ravaging the world like it has been, we believe that our donors really stepped up to support Ukrainian healthcare workers. Countless Ukrainian lives were saved thanks to all of you!
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